Seven Steps for a perfect Valentine's Day
by MissyEvil
Summary: Emma thinks that Regina likes her. But she isn't sure. And it's almost Valentine's day! She decides to take seven small steps to win the Mayor and her heart. Will it lead to a succefull Valentine's day?
1. Step 1: Her Blouse

**Okay so this will be my first multy chapter Swan Queen fic and I hope it will turn out fine.. :) It will mostly be fluff so enjoy! Might change the rating to M later :) Let me know what you think :)**

**xx**

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Emma almost stumbled into Mary Margaret's apartment. She was exhausted. The day had been long and more busy than she had thought when she had started it this morning at 6.30 am. Gold apparently had a break in and she had been there for two hours this morning, checking for signs but finding nothing. It seemed like there was nothing missing though but he would let her know for sure tomorrow. After that she went to the station and had a phone call with miss Lucas for two hours, something about an order being late and she thought it was suspicious since it had never happened before. Emma had tried explaining to the lady that it probably had to do with the bad weather that they had had the last couple of days but she wouldn't believe her, which caused Emma to call the company and visit them too. But she had been right, the late delivery had been due to the weather. Just when she thought that she could finally relax for the last hour of her shift the mayor had called her. That seemed to happen a lot lately, the mayor would call her and complain about things or ask her to fix things. In the beginning Emma had thought that Regina was just trying to bug her even more but after a while of coming there regular and watching the Mayor's body language Emma seemed pretty convinced that Regina wanted her there. She had caught the Mayor checking her out and the casual touches. Oh and there were the gazes. The gazes that seemed to stare into her soul. First Emma had been flattered but soon she realized she felt the same way for the tough Mayor. But it would be hard to actually make a move. Of course, she wasn't certain about Regina's feelings. And then there were the walls that guarded her. She knew the brunette wouldn't let her in that easy, even if she did love her.

Emma left her bag on a chair and dropped herself down on the couch. Mary Margaret watched her roommate from the counter. "Are you okay?" She asked. Emma turned her head to smile at the concerned woman. "I'm fine. Just had a rough day." Mary Margaret seemed pleased with the answer and grabbed her coffee to join Emma on the couch. She touched the other woman's knee in excitement. "You know Valentine's day is coming up, right?" Emma stared at her, surprised. "Yeah…" The other woman's smile grew. "David is planning something for the two of us. I don't know what but Ruby heard him call a fancy restaurant." Emma chuckled at the face of Mary Margaret, that woman had it bad. "I'm happy for you." She said and surprisingly Mary Margaret hugged her. Emma was startled by the sudden hug and it took her a while before she hugged her back and relaxed.

When Emma was alone in her room later that night she started to think about things. Valentine's day would be the perfect day to make a move on Regina. She still had two weeks which means she had enough time to make a plan. She would have to start slow with Regina, take small steps so she wouldn't scare her away. And then on Valentine's day she would have a surprise for the woman, it had to be something Regina would like and would convince her that loving a woman isn't something she should be scared of, something she should force out of herself. After about thirty minutes of thinking Emma knew what her first plan would be.

* * *

The next day was a slow day, which was great for the blonde because she was still tired from the day before and she hadn't slept that well too, all nervous about her plan from today. It was a small step, but still any step towards the fierce Mayor was scary. She just hoped her plan would work.

She had texted Ruby asking when the Mayor usually had her lunch at Granny's. Ruby had clearly thought it was weird but Emma had told her it was something about work so she had texted her a time and…. Looking at the clock it was time to go. Emma grabbed her red leather jacket and made her way towards Granny's.

She pushed open the door and wasn't surprised to see Regina already there, always right on time. She slowly moved towards the table the other woman was sitting. "Madam Mayor." She said, louder than she had too which caused the other woman to flinch, clearly startled. Emma smiled to herself, another victory, she had startled the Mayor. "Miss Swan, would you not sneak up on me like that." The brunette said as Emma made her way around the table. Emma ignored the comment and pointed to a chair. "Can I sit? We need to discuss some things about work?" Regina raised an eyebrow. "Work? I don't remember making an appointment with you, sherriff." Emma ignored her once again and sat down. She took of her leather jacket and watched Regina's eyes widen. She couldn't help but grin at the other woman's face. "You okay, Madam Mayor?" She said with a teasing voice. Regina's eyes moved from Emma's chest back to her eyes, she was blushing and it was adorable.

"Miss Swan I had asked to have that shirt back a long time ago." She said while she pointed at the silk blouse the other woman was wearing. Emma looked down at the blouse and acted like she just realized that she was wearing Regina's clothes. She shrugged. "I'm sorry. I thought I did that already. You can have it back." Without thinking again she started pulling it over her head but as expected Regina's hand stopped her movement. "Miss Swan, we are in public." Emma just shrugged and started sipping the coffee she had ordered. "I'll come bring it tonight than, that alright with you?" She smiled sweetly at the brunette, her plan was working she knew it. Regina's eyes seemed to go over her body once again. She knew the brunette liked her in that blouse, she had seen the look in her eyes the first time she wore it but it seemed like she was enjoying it even more now. "Yes, that would be okay, Sherriff. Now-" She stood up and took her coat, -"I have a town to run." She went to grab some money out of her pursue but Emma stood up and stilled the hand. "Don't. I'll pay." Regina was quiet for a moment before she thanked her and slowly left Granny's.

Step one-succeeded.

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	2. Step 2: The Test

**So here is chapter two! Hope you enjoy xx**

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Regina entered her mansion in the late afternoon and started cooking dinner while she thought about what exactly had happened between her ant the sheriff this afternoon. Emma had acted different than before. Did she know anything? Did she have some kind of plan? It worried Regina. So much actually that she forgot to pick up Henry from school and he knocked on her door while she was trying to save the food she had been cooking, well trying to cook. She actually was a really great cook but it seemed like with the blonde on her mind she wasn't able to do anything anymore. She should really start controlling that. She walked towards the door and opened it, already knowing who was on the other side, since Mary Margaret had called her from school saying that she had forgotten to pick up Henry from school and that she would bring him over. Her son would probably hate her even more now.

"Henry." She breathed and she pulled him in for a hug. The boy pulled back sooner than she wanted and the look on his face said enough. He ducked under her arm and ran inside. She heard him drop his bag somewhere and ran up the stairs. Great. She turned her head and caught Mary Margaret's awkward gaze, the woman had no idea what to say. "Well.. thank you for bringing him over." She had trouble getting the words out of her mouth but she was proud of herself. Mary Margaret seemed surprised by it too as she was quiet for a couple of seconds before stuttering a 'thank you' and moving back to her vehicle and leaving quickly.

"Henry, please. I'm sorry, I was cooking dinner and I forgot." She said as she entered the boys room and sat on his bed where the boy was reading in his book. He didn't even look up. "Look, Miss Swan is coming over tonight and I was just worried about some things." She was again surprised by her honesty towards the boy, he had a weird affect on her. It also caught Henry's attention as he now looked up from the book and smiled, all happy and enthusiastic. "Emma is coming over?" He asked. She nodded. "Yeah, she is just dropping something, but it will probably be late so I don't know if you'll still be up." His smile faded and he went back to reading. Regina sighed, it was hard sometimes and it hurt her that Henry only seemed to be interested in what she had to say when it was about Emma. "Henry-" She started but he cut her off. "Are you worried that she will break your curse? She is the savior after all." Regina was caught off guard and opened her mouth but for a moment nothing came out. Then she frowned and stood up. "Will you stop that. It's ridiculous and it hurts me Henry." She turned around and felt her eyes get wet, she also didn't turn when she walked out of the door. "Dinner will be ready in ten minutes, I made your favorite."

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Emma arrived home sooner than the day before, since it had been a slow day. When she entered Mary Margaret was just taking off her coat, clearly having arrived not that much sooner than her. "Long day at work?" She asked which caused the woman to look up at her and smile. "No, Regina forgot to pick up Henry so I had to drop him off at her place." Emma frowned, Regina never forgot to pick up Henry, she was always on time. "That's weird." She thought out loud as she grabbed some milk from the fridge and a glass from one of the cabin's. She sat down at one of the bar stools and looked at her roommate again. "Regina always picks him up. Was she okay?" She was worried that she had done something wrong this afternoon, maybe Regina didn't like her and Emma was just making everything worse by taking steps towards her.

She suddenly had doubts about going there tonight. "I don't know, she seemed okay. She thanked me." Emma raised her eyebrows which caused the brunette to chuckle. "I know. I thought so too." They both sipped their drinks and enjoyed the comforting silence for a moment or two before Mary Margaret pointed at the shirt lying on her counter. "What's that?" She asked. "Huh?" Emma asked before she followed the finger and noticed the blouse. She grabbed it and put it in her lap. "That's Regina's. I'm supposed to bring it over tonight but I don't know.. I think I'll just give it to Henry." Mary Margaret eyed her over, something was going on here. "Why?" She asked.

Emma fidgeted with the blouse in her lap. Should she tell the woman that she might have feelings for the fierce Mayor. I mean, it was a pretty big deal and she had no idea what her roommate was going to think of it. But going through all of this on her own was killing her, she needed someone to help her, someone to see it from a different angle. She needed advice and a friend. "Can I tell you something? " She asked, blushing. Mary Margaret smiled even though she couldn't see her, the blonde could be so sweet and soft sometimes. "Anything." Slowly Emma looked up. "I think I like someone." Mary Margaret's smile grew and she walked round the counter to sit on another bar stool and face her friend. "Oh really, who is he?" She said enthusiastically. Emma looked away again, this was harder than she had imagined. "Would it be okay, if it maybe wasn't.. a he.." she murmured.

Mary Margaret smiled and lifted her roommate chin with her finger. "Emma. Of course. I'm happy for you. Now-" She clapped her hands once. "Who is she?" The blonde was happy to have that first victory and felt braver now. She smirked and picked up the blouse to hold it a bit higher. Realization struck the brunette's face and it seemed like she didn't really know how to react as she sat there with her mouth open. "I don't really know what to say. I mean I never knew that the Mayor-" She couldn't finish her sentence because Emma interrupted –" I'm not sure actually, that's the problem." Mary Margaret nodded and continued, "so I'm guessing this whole blouse thing is part of your plan to win her over. I mean I admit she wasn't the first person that popped into my head when you told me, you know, but I guess it makes sense. The way you two stare at each other, the touches," She was silent and she rethought moment between the two. "So you've seen it too?" Emma said, smiling. Mary Margaret slowly put her hand on the other woman's arm. "I have and I think that you should continue this. If you don't you'll end up thinking 'what if' for the rest of your life. And seeing the moment of the year, I don't think you could have picked a better time."

She and Mary Margaret had spend the rest of the night talking about things between Emma and Regina and her plan. Mary Margaret had also told her about David plans. Emma had said that she thought it wasn't any fun if she knew all his plans but the brunette said she liked knowing what he was up too. The later it got, the more nervous Emma got, something she wasn't really used to feeling. And then she received a text from Regina.

_Henry is still up. Madame Mayor._

That was all it said. She showed it to her friend and started pacing around the room. "She probably doesn't want me to come. She's politely saying it's not a good time and she just wants me to give it to Henry. She doesn't wanna see me, even if it is just for a couple of minutes." Mary Margaret tried to convince her friend otherwise but she had to admit that even she had no idea whatever that text was supposed to be saying and that made it harder to convince the blonde on going anyway. "Have you thought about texting her back?" She asked. "And say what 'okay so basically you're saying is I can't come over' I don't want to make things worse."

About ten minutes later Emma had finally agreed to sitting on the couch but she was still doubting what to do and she absolutely had no rest in her body. Her phone suddenly beeped and she almost ninja rolled herself towards it, grasping it from the table.

_Well are you coming or what? I cannot let him stay up forever, he has to go to school tomorrow and he wants to see you before he has to go to bed. Madame Mayor._

She grinned and showed the message to Mary Margaret who laughed at her friend. She had never seen Emma this happy and open before. The blonde quickly responded.

_Srry, coming. xEmma. _

Her phone beeped again almost instantly.

_Oh there is no need for that. Madame Mayor._

Emma almost choked on her own breath and her cheeks got all red. Mary Margaret grasped the phone from her friends hands and read the message. "I think she's flirting with you Emma." She pushed her friend towards the door and gave her back her phone. "Now, go on. Step two."

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Emma knocked on the wooden door about ten minutes after the last text. It was opened by her son instead of the Mayor. "Emma." He said as he hugged her instantly. "Hey kid." She responded while she playfully rubbed her hand on his head and walked the two of them inside. "Where is your mom?" She asked when they entered the study. Henry shrugged and grabbed his school bag to show her some of his latest projects and grades. Henry was a really good student and Emma enjoined seeing his work but she was curious to where the Mayor was. Quickly she grabbed her phone from her pocket.

_You knw I'm in your house already rght? xEmma._

She texted the Mayor while trying to listen to Henry.

_Oh I'm sorry Miss Swan, I was in the shower and did not hear the door. Tell Henry to go to bed. I'll be down in a minute. Madame Mayor._

Emma couldn't help but gasping at the image of the hot Mayor in her shower but she could hold her arousal back because come on, there was a child in the room. Luckily the boy had just finished telling her about Paige and his Valentines plans. "Come on kid, you have to get to bed." He pouted at her before he gave in, hugged her and went upstairs. Emma heard Regina and Henry say goodnight to each other on the stairs and not that much later the Mayor walked into the study. Emma felt like she was drooling all over the place. The Mayor's hair was still damp and she wore a dress that Emma hadn't seen before. It was red and looked absolutely stunning on the woman. Hard to keep up to her plan right now. But she had too, this was the ultimate test. She stood up and pulled the blouse out of a bag that she had with her. "Here. Mary Margaret washed it so it is all fresh and ready to wear again." Regina smiled and took the bag from her. She opened her mouth but Emma was already walking towards the door. "What are you doing?" She asked, slightly anxious.

Emma smiled, it was working. She turned around again to face Regina. "I was bringing the blouse over, and I did-" She moved her hand on the doorknob, -"so I think I'm going again." She started twisting the doorknob and was almost afraid that she had indeed been wrong all that time. Luckily the older woman stopped her just in time. "Wait. Would you maybe like a drink, Miss Swan?"

Emma smiled. "I'd never say no to a drink with the Mayor."

Step two-succeeded.

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**Hope you liked it :) Thanks for the follows btw! I appreciate it!**


	3. Step 3: Won by Regina

**Hey guys! Thanks for the follows! Hope you enjoy this next chapter, srry for my English it's late and I'm tired.**

**xx**

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Regina woke up the next morning with a pounding head. She hissed in pain when she sat up and placed her hand over her forehead to sooth her pain. Memories from last night started replaying in her mind. Emma and her talking, drinking and actually having fun. She had to admit that her feelings for the blonde had changed from the moment they had shared at the mines. She didn't like it, she didn't enjoy liking the blonde but it had just happened and she tried to ignore it, she really did it was getting harder and time passed by and she felt caught herself arguing herself more than she wanted. Slowly she pulled herself out of bed and towards the phone buzzing somewhere on the floor. She picked it up but had to blink a few times before the view got clear enough to actually see something. She smiled when she noticed the new message but that smile quickly faded when she saw the time. 11:30 she should have been at work hours ago. Quickly she stood up and changed into some clothes, normally she planned out what she was going to wear but now that she had to hurry up she just grabbed some clothes.

"Stupid meeting, and that on a Saturday." She murmured to herself before stepping into the bathroom to apply some make up a and take a aspirin. She rushed downstairs where the boy was already watching television. "Henry." She said and he turned and laughed at his mother's appearance. Regina was still not awake enough that he was laughing because of her and she rushed towards the boy, giving him a kiss on his head. "Sorry Henry. I have to go. I have a meeting in an hour and I still have to prepare some things. I'll see you tonight." The boy shrugged. "That's okay. How was your night with Emma?" The little boy asked and immediately another row of flashbacks appeared before her eyes and she closed them for a second to slow it all down a bit. She realized she still hadn't answered her son, who was now looking up to her with that same look of impatience that Emma sometimes had. "Good, sweetheart. She brought me back my blouse." After that she turned on her shoes, not heels, she left then somewhere last night and there was no time to find them now, and quickly left the house.

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Emma woke up by the sound of a knock on her door. "Emma?" The sound of Mary Margaret's and the smell of breakfast made Emma wake up quickly. "Yeah. Come in." she asked. The door was awkwardly pushed open as her roommate brought in a tile with some food. "I made you breakfast." She said. Emma couldn't help but beam. That was so sweet. "Thanks." She said instead and started eating, damn she was really hungry. "So.." Mary Margaret began as she said down on the bed of her roommate. Emma didn't catch her eyes, but kept eating instead which made the brunette duck her head in order to get Emma's eyes to stare into hers. "How was your 'date'?" She finally asked. Emma shrugged. "It wasn't a date." She was still proud of herself for sharing everything yesterday but sometimes it just took her a little while before she felt like talking about it. "It's okay. You don't have to tell me everything." Mary Margaret said softly, understanding. "Just tell me that she didn't reject you." The blonde finally stopped eating. Her roommate really did care about her, she didn't want to see her hurt. She smiled.

"She didn't. We had a fun night actually, Regina maybe had a bit too much fun I think." Her smile grew at the memory. Who knew that woman could drink like that. Emma had held back, not trusting her drunk self around the Mayor. But Regina apparently had no intention of holding back as she kept on drinking that apple cider of hers. Which was really good, by the way. "So do you already have a plan for step three?" Mary Margaret asked. "Yeah but I'm not sure if today is the best day, she will probably feel like crap and embarrassed, since I don't think she has any memory left. And we have a meeting in… about two hours." She chatted with her roommate some more after that before the woman went to do some investigating again on her whole charming situation. Her mission or something.

She started to change and get ready for another boring meeting. She was lucky that Regina was there, Emma honestly couldn't wait to see what was left of her. She didn't like the brunette vulnerable but embarrassed and hung-over was for sure something she wouldn't want to miss. She grabbed her phone and sent a message to the Mayor that she was sure would wake her up.

_Don't you have a meeting to attend in about an hour, Mayor? I had fun last night. X Emma_

She added the last part just to tease the brunette.

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Emma already sat around the table with all the other business people when Regina arrived. Usually she was one of the first one's here but today was different. She hadn't even heard her enter since she wasn't wearing heels. Well that was a first. Emma realized that, even though she was sitting now, she would probably be a couple of inches bigger now. It made her smile. Her eyes roamed over Regina's body. Her hair was not as straight as usual and her make-up looked like it had been applied too quickly. Besides that, the outfit she wore wasn't really matching. And that was coming out of Emma's mouth, imagine was the other Regina would think of her own outfit.

"Good morning." Regina said to the group as she obviously ignored the blonde. Ah, embarrassed this was getting more and more fun by the minute. "As you all know this meeting will mainly be lead by Stan, our director of business." Regina said while pointing at one of the man on the end of the table. She seemed relieved when he stood up and started talking. Regina took the seat in front of Emma but still didn't look at her.

About fifteen minutes in the meeting, Emma finally dared to look at Regina, she wanted to stay in control and looking at her was probably a mistake but she hadn't felt the gazes on the side of her head for a long time and she started to wonder if the Mayor was actually paying attention now. They were both sitting on the end of the table so there was also no one else that could really see whatever was happening in the back, which was convenient for the Mayor since she was practically drooling all over the table. The woman had fallen asleep with her head on the table and Emma had the put her hand in front of her mouth in order to stop the laughing.

"Madame Mayor." She said softly. The other woman looked so adorable but she didn't want to get her into trouble by letting her sleep throughout a meeting. "Regina." She tried but again no reaction from the brunette. She pulled her phone out of her jacket, maybe this would work.

_I don't know much about running a town, but isn't the Mayor supposed to be awake during the meetings, instead of drooling over the table? xEmma_

She had to admit she found herself pretty genius right now. As soon as she hit send she turned her head again towards the business man. She heard Regina's phone vibrating and she felt the table shook caused to a sudden move and she was also pretty certain she heard a groan. It was really hard not to just look her way and see her reaction since she was obviously reading the text now. To her surprise, her phone beeped a minute later. "Sorry." She said to the man next to her, clearly annoyed by the sound of her phone and he was staring directly at her. She quickly turned the volume down and opened the text.

_I'm also pretty sure the Sheriff is supposed to answer when a question is being asked. Madame Mayor. _

Emma's head slowly moved up, first she caught Regina's face. A teasing smirk was on her lips. She then turned back to the man next to her and all the other who were all staring at her while it was completely quiet. So it hadn't been about the volume. "I'm sorry. Could you repeat that?" Emma asked, her face red from embarrassment.

The man sighed in frustration. "I said, do you have a plan for Valentine's day?" Emma was taken aback, oh god did people know about her plan, that could be right, this was just insane. She raised her eyebrows and opened her mouth but Regina interrupted. "The Sheriff and I have already discussed the plans of traffic and safety control on Valentine's day. It's in my report." She wanted to smile and thank Regina but her attention was back to the man once again.

_Thanks. _

She texted Regina. She noticed the sound of the woman's phone but to her disappointment the woman didn't answer or even look the next few minutes after that. Another man now started to speak about something else, something with the budget of the school, not interesting at all. Now if Regina would just answer her ba-

Her phone vibrated.

She was too eager, she probably yanked it off the table and opened her text. But she didn't catch the wide smile on the brunette's face.

_That's okay. Now stop texting me, Miss Swan, I'm trying to listen to a meeting. _

Aha, so she was trying to take back some control. O no, that wasn't happening.

_Then stop responding to me. _

Regina now held her phone in her lap and shut out the rest of the meeting while she focused on texting the Sheriff back.

_I will. _

Even though Regina did stop after that, Emma felt like she had won this round. Whatever this game between them really was, she was winning and she loved it.

Emma left the meeting room later than the Mayor, who had practically run out of there, not even looking back at Emma. She was so quick that she ever forgot her phone. Immediately Emma opened up her contacts on her phone and texted the Mayor.

_Seems like you left your phone here. I'll bring it over tonight._

Not realizing that Regina of course couldn't respond, since Emma had her phone she took the no answer as a yes and decided on stepping by tonight.

* * *

The blonde entered her apartment and the smell of Mary Margaret's cooking filled her nose instantly. "Smells good." She says as she takes one of the bar stools. Mary Margaret places some of the lasagna on her plate and they start eating in silence. Finally, after a couple of minutes the brunette breaks the silence. "So how was the meeting?" She asked. Emma shrugged and chewed on her food quickly. "Boring." "How was Regina?" The woman asked almost immediately. She noticed the light smile forming on the blonde's lips. "She looked like crap. It was funny." Mary Margaret couldn't help but chuckle. "And how did it go with your mission?" Emma asked, making her roommate sit up straight and start to act like a teenager all of the sudden. "I think he is taking me to the troll bridge for lunch and then we are going to the stables and there is dinner in the evening." Emma laughed. "Seems like it's going well. I didn't know you could ride a horse." Mary Margaret smiled proudly. "Learned it when I was a child." A silence fell over them again and Emma knew her roommate was holding back a question. "Fine. Ask me." The woman quickly turned on her stool to face Emma. "What happened?" she asked, her face almost breaking from smiling. Emma turned too. "Nothing." She said but the look on the teacher's face told her that wasn't enough information. "I mean she asked me if I wanted a drink. I drank one. She drank a lot. We talked. Nothing happened. But we had fun. It was nice talking to her without her walls up so high." Mary Margaret smiled gently and placed a hand on Emma's knee.

* * *

Regina took a stop on the way back home. She walked into Game of Thrones and bought a big bouquet of roses. Two people could play this game. She added a card that said 'secret admirer' and went home after that.

"Hey mom. How was the meeting. Did you see Emma?" Henry asked as soon as she answered. "Fine." She answered a bit harsh. She wasn't mad, her head was just pounding again and she needed some medicine before starting dinner. "I made Paige a card, do you wanna see it?" The boy asked her shyly and Regina felt somehow moved that he still wanted to share things like that with her. She smiled. "Sure."

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Emma knocked on the same door of the night before. It opened later than it had the night before and she was almost starting to doubt if the other woman was home. But of course she had to be because she had Henry. Finally it opened and showed a surprised woman. "Miss Swan, what are you doing here?" Emma stretched out her arm and handed her the phone. "You forgot your phone but I did text you to let you know I was coming." Regina let out a small laugh but she noticed the sheriff wasn't smiling she just stared at her with one eyebrow raised before finally, Emma realized her mistake. Her mouth dropped open slightly. "Oh. Yeah."

Regina pulled the door open a bit more to reveal the roses in the vase in her hallway. She noticed the smile immediately fade from the blonde's face. "Nice uhm-" Emma pointed towards them, -"roses." The brunette smiled. "Thank you, Miss Swan. I got them from a secret admirer." She was so winning this round, she could feel it. As expected, Emma started to back away from her. "Well I should be going. I'll see you soon, I guess." When she reached her car Regina finally responded. "Yes, I think so, Emma." She said and she quickly closed the door to leave the stunned woman alone.

Step three – failed and definitely won by Regina.

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**Review please? It makes my day :)**


	4. Step 4: A date and handcuffs

**Hi guys sorry for the slight delay. I was on a tv show and homework and for some reason i've just been so tired lately. I'm trying to get enough sleep but I end up staying late anyway which causes me to sleep during days and.. well lets say i'm having some issues with my sleep and that makes me not feel like me during the days. I have about 40% of my normal energy. And well now it's 2am again, which means it happened again.. **

**Anway, just ignore that. :) I hope you enjoy this next chapter. **

**xx**

**P.s: thanks for the reviews and follows/favorites. I love them. **

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Emma first didn't want to see Regina anymore after the incident. She didn't see her the day after it, or the day after that. But luckily Mary Margaret sensed that something was wrong with her roommate. "Emma." She said when it was Friday night and the blonde was sitting on the couch all by herself focusing on nothing, not even on the TV that was on. When she didn't react the brunette said next to her and placed a hand on the woman's knee which caused her to startle and flinch. Immediately, Mary Margaret pulled her hand back again and stared into eyes that seemed to have lost of lot of that flicker from days ago. "Sorry." She said but she wasn't going to leave it her, she needed to know what was going on. "Listen, I don't know what is happening, but I'm guessing that it has something to do with Regina. You haven't seen her or spoken about her in two days which is pretty weird in your case." The blonde had her focus on the TV, clearly not wanting to talk about this. But the teacher wasn't going to give up this easily. "Please, Emma, you can tell me. Maybe I can help." The sheriff sighed deeply and finally, after a couple of minutes started talking. "She received flowers from someone else. And she had them in her hallway. From a secret admirer." She sighed once again, glad that she got it out. Mary Margaret squeezed her friend's upper arm reassuringly. "I'm sorry Emma, but.."She paused and waited till she got her friend's attention. "You shouldn't just give up. Fight for her. Secret admirer means that this person is probably in the same situation as yours, and they're not in a relationship yet. Which means-" the brunette paused and stared into her the blonde's eyes, all serious. "Let the hunger games begin."

Emma couldn't help but laugh out loud at her roommate's words, who still looked dead serious, she immediately felt better. "I get your point." She said. Mary Margaret smiled and sat up straight. "So, step four."

* * *

Regina felt slightly disappointed. She was sure the blonde would come back the next day and fight like hell for her, I mean Regina was never wrong and she was pretty sure the blonde was interested in her. She felt like she was finally ready to figure out her feelings instead of ignoring them. Of course, there was the issue of the curse breaking perhaps and Henry and Snow or Mary Margaret or whatever. But she came here to get her happy ending, and maybe, just maybe, Emma was her happy ending. It sure felt like it. The butterflies were in her stomach when she was thinking about the blonde and when Emma was actually in her presence she felt like she had the whole zoo inside her. You can't ignoring that. But now, it had been three days since she had last heard of Emma. She knew her move had been bold and probably hurtful but she had hoped to push Emma in the right direction. It seemed like her plan hadn't really worked out.

Henry had noticed it, he had noticed something was definitely off with his mother which is why he had been nicer to her, letting his mother hug him more often and he didn't complain about not seeing Emma. Because he had noticed that every time he mentioned his birth mothers name, his mother would flinch and change the subject. He didn't really understand what exactly was going on between his two mothers but it sure had something to do with those roses in their hallway. Because they had been there before Emma showed up two days ago and after she had left, his mother had removed them immediately again. He felt pretty smart, since he figured out the whole roses thing. Maybe he should talk to Mary Margaret about this, she would probably understand what his mother was doing and maybe she knew more about it all, since she was living with Emma. He decided to make this his mission.

Regina was in the kitchen on Saturday afternoon when Henry rushed down the stairs. "Don't run. You might trip." She said but her son ignored her and ran into the kitchen towards her mother. He had his jacket on. "Where are you going?" Regina asked, one eyebrow raised. It was a Saturday afternoon and usually they would watch television or eat lunch around this time. "I'm going to see Mary Margaret for a school project." He said, hoping his mother would buy it. She nodded. That was the good thing about her current state, she wasn't really as sharp as usual and didn't catch the lie. He surprised his mother by giving her a hug around her waist. "It's going to be ok." He said before he quickly left the house, leaving his stunned mother by the kitchen counter.

* * *

Mary Margaret was surprised by the sudden knock on her door. She had been on Emma's laptop, going through some saved documents and looking at photos that were all over the counter. It took her a second to react before she grabbed all the photos from David and other, she was still investigating their valentine's plan, and closed her laptop. "Just a moment." She called out to the door. Emma had just left for work so it could be her, maybe the blonde had forgotten something, but she didn't want to risk it. She rushed over to the door and pulled it open. Her gaze moved lower until she made eye contact with the small boy. "Henry." She breathed. "What are you doing here?" The boy didn't answer but instead made his way into the apartment and checked the room to see if Emma was there. "Oh, I'm sorry, Emma is at work. Want me to drop you off?" she asked but the boy shook his head. "No, I'm here for you." He said to his teacher as he grabbed some juice from the fridge and sat down on a barstool. The teacher slowly made her way to the boy. "Is…everything ok?" She asked, not really knowing what to say. "Yes, but my mother is been acting weird and I think it is something with her and Emma." Mary Margaret was surprised by how smart the boy actually was, apparently he had quickly caught on to the tension between the two of them. "What do you think is going on?" She asked, faking ignorance. She was testing how much he knew. "I think she might be in love with Emma." He said hesitant and Mary Margaret's mouth fell open. She was of course certain that Emma liked Regina but she hadn't really known about the other way around and if Henry had noticed it, it must be pretty obvious. She had two options now, working together with the boy or playing it cool. She chose the first one. "Well to be honest, I think I've seen it on Emma too, and perhaps she has been talking about it." She said while she stared at anything but the young boy.

"I knew it!" Henry said enthusiastically. "It makes sense. Emma is the savior, she has to save the Evil Queen." Mary Margaret crooked her head slightly. What exactly was he talking about? Then it hit her. The book. Right. "Henry.." She started but she was interrupted. "No really. It was all supposed to happen. This is my mom's happy ending,_ Emma_ is her happy ending." Mary Margaret decided on not fighting against his theory this time but instead moved on. "So what do we do?" she asked. The boy shrugged. "I don't know, you're the adult." She chuckled, he made it easy to forget that sometimes. "Maybe we should just let them work it out. But do you know where you're mom got those flowers from?" the brunette asked, realizing it was probably something Henry would know. Unfortunately he shrugged again. "No, she said it was from someone I didn't know." Mary Margaret tapped with her fingers on the counter. "Well than it is our mission to find out who that is and stop that person, so that Emma can get to your mom sooner." The boy nodded enthusiastically. "Operation Momma!"

* * *

Emma's next plan was crazy. She knew it and it was totally a bold move but she had to get on with it if she wanted to make Regina her Valentine. The day was now only four days away and not much had changed between them. Her plan was crazy she knew it but somehow she felt crazy was the way that would work on the Mayor. She grabbed her handcuffs and walked towards one of the cells. She was happy that no one was in there today. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and held it in her hands. She texted the Mayor:

"Gina comi help. Stucik. Gold. Statiun. Don't wry."

Satisfied, she smiled and cuffed herself to the bars behind her, if someone would come in now and she stayed like this it would look like she was casually leaning against the bars. She let the key slide into her back pocket and waited for the Mayor to come.

After ten minutes there was still no sign of her. _Come on Regina, don't disappoint me. _She realized this was a very risky test. But she could get out of these cuffs. For everyone else they looked perfectly normal but if she would twist her hand in a certain way they would click open. She just wanted to wait a little longer.

Five minutes later the Mayor finally stumbled in, she looked slightly flustered. _Has she been running? _"Miss Swan, I had to pick up Henry from Mary Margaret." She explained while her eyes wandered over the blonde's body. Her eyes narrowed and she looked annoyed. "Why did you call me if nothing is wrong with you? You need to take your job more serious, Miss Swan. If you wanted to just see me you could have done in the last couple of days" _Back to formal and talking about her absence, it seemed like the Mayor cared more than she let on. _Regina rolled her eyes and turned around but Emma chose that as the perfect moment to mover her eyes over the bars, so that a recognizable sound could be heard. Regina froze and turned around on her heels. Emma smiled innocently at her, the same smirk that she had on her face when they first met. "Miss Swan.." Regina started but she was interrupted by Emma. "Gold. He needed help with a break in or something but I couldn't help in since there were no signs of a break in, so he did this." Slowly Regina made her way over to the bars, she turned her head and noticed the cuffs and the awkward position of the blonde.

She tried her best to hide the smile, Emma looked so adorable like that. "I thought you were a strong woman, Miss Swan." Emma's mouth dropped open, she didn't really know how to answer that question. "Well.. I am but he surprised me." Regina tried her best to look annoyed but Emma could see the flicker in her eyes that told her otherwise. She sighed deeply and stood in front of the blonde. Emma gasped at the closeness, she hadn't expected Regina to step up to her so boldly. Regina smiled at the gasp and moved her hands around the blonde's waist. Her head moved to the side so she could still see what she was doing. She checked the lock and stepped back. "You ignored me for three days, Miss Swan. Why would I help you now." Emma sighed, the Mayor was so complicated. "I figured I'd give you some time to figure out who your secret admirer is." Emma responded quickly. Regina ignored it and focused on the cuffed hands again. "Why don't you ask anyone else for this Miss Swan. I don't know anything about locks." Emma smiled. "Because the key is my back pocket-" She noticed the eyes of the Mayor go darker but she ignored it- "and I don't want a man to touch me there to search for a key, and you're the only woman I have on speed dial." Regina was obviously doubting what to do, their current situation was making things a lot more difficult. Emma knew she was in an conflict with herself.

Finally she stepped forward once again and put her hand in Emma's back pocket. She couldn't help but gasp when she felt the older woman's hand. "You okay there, Miss Swan?" Regina asked, clearly not wanting to be vulnerable, so taking control again. "Fine." Emma responded. Regina slowly pulled the key out of Emma's back pocket and started working on the lock. She had it open sooner than Emma had expected, which disappointed her somehow.

"Thanks." She said while staring trying to stare into dark eyes but she caught them roaming over her body. When the brown eyes finally made contact with hers a blush fell over the Mayors cheeks. Emma knew she had to ask. Screw that secret admirer she was going to ask the Mayor out. "Regina." She said when the Mayor had started to move away from her again. The woman turned around and faced her. "I was thinking, you know, maybe, I mean you don't have to-" "Stop rambling, Miss Swan." Regina didn't really want that, Emma was adorable when she was rambling but she was curious to whatever the blonde had to say. Emma smiled and sighed to regain her confidence. "I was thinking that maybe you'd like to come with me to the pre-valentine's party at Granny's tomorrow tonight. I've heard you have to bring a date and I wouldn't want us to be their alone." She just couldn't really ask her out, it was too hard. Regina smiled teasingly. "You do remember I have a secret admirer so maybe I don't have to go alone, maybe I have a date." Emma narrowed her eyes. "Do you?" Regina blushed, which was really new for the blonde to see but she was loving it, she looked so cute. "No." The older woman answered. Emma chuckled and stepped forward. She grabbed one of Regina's hands and stroked it. "Regina Mills, would you like to be my date tomorrow to the pre-valentine's party?" The other woman gasped at the contact and her dark eyes made contact with bright green ones. "I'd love to." She answered.

Step four: Definitely succeeded.

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**What did you think? Excited about their date? off to sleep now! **


	5. Step 5: Keep it a Secret, please

**Heeey here is another chapter! Hope you guys enjoy! Srry for the grammer though. **

**Let me know what you think, I'm curious to your opinions on this chapter! **

**xx**

**P.S: EMMA'S TEXT ARE IN _ITALIC _AND BOLD REGINA'S TEXTS ARE ONLY BOLD. **

**(first part in italics is a flashback though, but i'm pretty sure that's clear)**

* * *

"Emma calm down." Mary Margaret said as Emma was pacing around the room. She had been doing that for the last two hours without saying something and although Mary Margaret knew it had something to do with Regina she wasn't entirely sure what exactly it was. Finally, the blonde stood still and looked directly at her roommate. Her eyes were wide. "I can't." The brunette stood and grabbed her arm. "Just breathe." She said while stroking the Sherriff's arm reassuringly. Emma shook her head. "No I mean, the date, tonight. I can't." Mary Margaret raised her eyebrows. She hadn't expected that. Especially not after yesterday evening.

_"She said yes!" Emma screamed in victory when she entered the apartment. Mary Margaret jumped in her seat and turned. "Wow calm down." She said while using a hand gesture. The blonde seemed to have had a major shot of adrenaline because when she tried to hang her coat she dropped the whole peg. She didn't even look at it though as she ran over to the counter and grabbed Mary Margaret's arm. "She said yes!" Emma replied again. Of course the brunette had a clue what this was about but there was still some information missing. Emma walked around the counter and grabbed the half broken toaster. Immediately Mary Margaret stood up and yanked the toaster out of the blonde's arms, holding it protectively. "No. Not again. You will leave my toaster alone." Emma chuckled. "You're acting like it's your child." Now it was the teacher's turn to smile. "No because apparently you are." They both laughed and took a seat. Emma was finally calm enough to tell the brunette was exactly had happened. "So I did step five." Mary Margaret already felt the need to interrupt as she opened her mouth and spoke. "The whole handcuffs thing? Seriously?" She couldn't help but grin. "Yeah. And it worked but then I got bold and asked her out to that dance of tomorrow." Mary Margaret's eyes widened. "What did she say?" Emma laughed. "I'm pretty sure I made that clear earlier." The brunette's mouth dropped open as she now realized what the Mayor had said yes to. She couldn't help but scream out in excitement as she pulled Emma in for a bone crushing hug. _

"What do you mean you can't." The teacher asked as she walked closer to Emma. "Did something happen?" Emma smiled when she saw how worried her roommate looked. "No." she sighed deeply and sat down on the couch. "It's just that. Okay, I haven't really told anyone this but Henry's father, he hurt me in a way I never want to be hurt again. I loved him but then he stood me up and I never saw him again. He just used me. He never loved me." Mary Margaret felt so sorry for the blonde, she hadn't known that, Emma never really talked about Henry's father. She put a reassuring hand on the Sherriff's knee and squeezed it gently. "I just.." Emma continued, "I just don't want Regina to reject me and leave me with the same pain all over again. I can't do it again." Mary Margaret nodded. "To be honest, I've noticed your trust issues with men but I just thought it had to do with the whole liking girls thing." That caught Emma's attention and she looked up at the teacher. "You knew?" She asked surprised. The brunette smiled. "I wasn't 100% sure of course but I was pretty sure, it's in your eyes and your body language. And also, you're kind of a gentleman sometimes." That made Emma chuckle and she grabbed the hand that was still on her knee. "Now, let's discuss step five. How can we make it a succesfull date."

* * *

Henry knocked on his mother's bedroom door. "Mom?" He heard his mother struggle with something inside the room and then the footsteps were approaching the door and it was pulled open just a tiny bit. "Yes sweetheart?" Henry was surprised by his mother's behavior. It wasn't like her to hid in her room for hours, although he did have an idea of what she was doing, since he had heard her closet open en close multiple times in the last hour."Are you going to make me dinner soon, I'm starving." She sighed and turned to look at the clock. "I'll be down soon." She wanted to close the door again but Henry stopped her. "Can I help?" He asked. Regina's mouth dropped open. "Excuse me?" she asked her son. He just smiled. "I know about your date with Emma tonight. Can I help pick out clothes." Her jaw somewhat dropped to the floor. How in the hell did he know that. "Eh..Wha.." She stammered but she didn't have time to react as Henry pushed the door open and entered. Clothes were scattered across the floor and there were a lot of heels on the bed. "Wow." He said.

Regina placed her hands on her sides and stared at her son. "How exactly do you know all of that, and besides it's not really a date. We just don't want to go alone." She couldn't believe she was having this conversation with her son. She really needed some friends. She had Katherine of course, but she was having some trouble getting over David so they didn't really got to spend much time together lately. "It's a date." Henry stated and he finally turned to face his mother. Immediately he covered his hand to stop the childish laughing. "What?" Regina asked. Henry pointed to her body and she stepped in front of the mirror. She sighed in frustration when she realized she had put the dress on wrong, it looked ridiculous. The boy looked down on the floor. Most of the dresses were long and in colors like black, grey and dark blue. Nothing he liked, it was too formal. He needed operation Momma to work so his mother needed to wear something different, that would impress Emma. He walked over to the closet and pulled the doors open. Of course there wasn't much left in it but all the way in the back, still in plastic he saw the perfect dress. He remembered his mother getting it from Katherine. "This one." He said as he held it out to his mother. Regina looked shocked. "No." She said. "Please pick out another dress."She turned to the mirror again where she was working on the beginning of her make-up. "Just try it on." The boy whined and when she saw the puppy look on his face she couldn't deny. She rolled her eyes and took the dress from him.

* * *

"Emma you look beautiful." Mary Margaret said as Emma turned around in the dress. She was a dress kind of girl but she had to admit that she did like seeing herself in this dress and she was sure the Mayor would be impressed. She wore a dark blue dress with a low round cut. It was tight but not too tight so it hugged her body perfectly. She didn't like her dresses too long so it came till just above her knees. Her curly hair was pulled up but not too tight so most of the curls were still dancing around her head. It looked sexy and playful. "You look amazing too." She said as she watched Mary Margaret in her own dress. She and David were going too. He had asked her yesterday but of course the teacher had known that days maybe weeks before. "Thank you." The brunette replied and then she left the room to go get some stuff and money that she needed. Emma, now being left alone, grabbed her phone and send a quick text to the Mayor.

_**At what time cn I pck you up? X **_

She sat down on the bed and waited impatiently for the brunette to answer. It was still about two hours since it would start but she wanted to set a time so that she wouldn't have to sit here fidgeting wondering when was the appropriate time to pick up a date.

* * *

Regina entered the bedroom again, feeling uncomfortable because 1) she didn't like this dress on herself and 2) she was about to ask her son for his opinion on her outfit. The normally fierce and confident Mayor looked to the ground when she entered and only looked up when the silence was killing her. Henry was sitting on her bed, beaming up to her. It made her heart flutter to see that smile on her son´s face. She hadn´t been able to cause it since Emma had arrived."What do you think?" She asked. "You look really pretty, mom." Regina tried looking down at her own body but it still didn't really work for her, only then Henry pointed towards the mirror and she stood in front of it. Her mouth dropped open. The red of the dress looked really good with her hair. The low cut showed the side of her boobs, enough to tease but not inappropriate. It was looser and shorter than her other dresses but it hugged her perfectly around her waist to show off her figure.

She was snapped out of her trance and focused on her son. "Anyway Granny will be here soon to watch you tonight, since she hired Ruby and some friends to work at the party so make sure you behave and go get changed already" Henry sighed deeply. "Fine, but you still have an unread text from half an hour ago." He said. She rushed over to it and opened the text. Quickly, she typed her response.

**Miss Swan, picking me up huh? Well not in your bug please, It's a formal party. Madame Mayor. **

Emma was again pacing across the small room. Mary Margaret had left already, she was David were meeting at his place before going to the party. She had never seen the brunette more excited. But now she was here alone and she was nervous as hell. "Calm down, Swan." She told herself but it wouldn't work. If Regina would just respond that would make thi- as if the woman could read her mind her phone vibrated. She was quick to respond, not caring about seeming to eager.

**_Of course, it's a date. Im supposed to pck you up. And what do you expect, a carriage? Srry to disappoint you but I'm not Cinderella. x_**

She wanted to hit send but added a just so Regina would think it's funny. She was aware of the lack of humor from the Mayor. It vibrated sooner than she had expected.

**Clearly. Madame Mayor. **

Emma frowned. What did she mean by that. But when the next text showed up Emma couldn't help laugh. She had definitely underestimated that level of humor.

**You, Miss Swan, would never wear a puffy blue dress. Madame Mayor. **

She thought about her reply a few minutes before typing it and hitting send.

**_You never know, I might just surprise you tonight. I hope I'm not upsetting your secret admirer tonight though. X _**

She hoped it wasn't too much. You never knew with the Mayor, she could pull back at any time when the teasing was too much.

**I'm not really interested in him. Well then, princess, if you would be so nice to come pick me up in your pumpkin carriage right now, you'd make me very happy. Madame Mayor. **

Immediately Emma grabbed her small purse and car keys. She couldn't wait any longer.

* * *

The sheriff knocked on the Mayor's door about ten minutes later. It seemed like Regina was just as eager as her because she didn't hear the footsteps approaching but yet the door was pulled open about twenty seconds later, which meant Regina had been waiting by the door. Emma's mouth dropped open when she saw what Regina was wearing. "Wow."She breathed and the blush on her cheeks made Regina smile. The dress was so not like her but it looked amazing, Emma was so happy that she had asked Regina yesterday, no way she would have wanted to miss this. Only then did Regina notice the blonde's outfit. Her cheeks blushed too as she smiled shyly, completely out of character, at the blonde. "You look amazing." Emma couldn't have been happier at that moment and a silence fell over the two woman before Emma felt the need to lighten the mood. "I'm sorry to disappoint you but the mouse and pumpkin in my apartment just wouldn't turn into a carriage, so I'm afraid we'll have to use my bug." Regina chuckled and followed Emma to the car. This night had a lot to offer.

* * *

The looks of other had started when Regina and Emma had entered together. Without speaking they had both decided on not touching the first period of the time, for Emma because she was still nervous and needed some alcohol and Regina was worried what the rest of her town was going to think of it. Emma was getting them drinks but ended up in a conversation with Ruby so when she returned she couldn't find the brunette where she had left her. Instead, Jefferson was talking to her by the bar. Although the Mayor always looked confident and strong Emma could read between the lines, the Mayor was clearly uncomfortable and trying to find a way out but the hand on her shoulder stopped her. She was walking over to them but on her way she was pulled into a rough sideways hug from her drunk roommate. "Emmaaaaaaa." Mary Margaret said and if she wasn't worried about Regina she would have found it hilarious. She smiled at her roommate. "Mary Margaret, how's the party." She now focused her attention on David, hoping for some sober support but he smiled at her wickedly. "Fun!" He screamed and laughed after that. Emma sighed, just great. "Could you maybe hold these drinks for me. I'll be right back." She said and she pushed the drinks in the hands of the brunette, who seemed to understand her, surprisingly. The teacher nodded and focused her attention on her date again.

Finally Emma reached Regina. The hand that had been on Regina's shoulder was now on her waist and Emma could see that Regina was fighting herself out of his grasp. Anger boiled inside her and she stepped between the two, causing Jefferson's attention to lose his grasp on the Mayor. "I would like to dance with my friend if you don't mind." Emma made sure to keep it cool, she was well aware of Regina not wanting the whole town to know everything. Jefferson felt defeated but made a gesture to Regina that he would be back later, which the blonde didn't like. She asked the drinks back from Mary Margaret and they drained them fast. "Would you like to dance?"Emma asked. Dancing was safe, the room was so crowded that no one would notice them. Regina nodded so Emma immediately grabbed her hand. "Careful Miss Swan." The brunette said as Emma guided them through the crowd. When they found a spot she faced the Mayor. "Regina you should really start calling me Emma, at least for tonight."The Mayor rolled her eyes and they started dancing. After a couple of songs and some more drinks they finally stood still when a slow song started. "I had no idea you could dance, Miss Sw- ehm.. Emma."

That caused a smile on the blonde's face. They stood there awkwardly. The Mayor's attraction towards her was more than clear now, it was all in her eyes but Emma wasn't sure how far Regina was willing to take this. If she had just found out her feelings she maybe didn't want to go too fast. But Emma wanted to dance with her so badly and the alcohol had made her brave enough so she slowly moved her hand to the brunette's waist and slowly pulled their bodies flush together. It felt amazing and Emma was sure Regina felt the same since she heard a gasp. She couldn't have been happier that Regina was totally fine with this. Her steps were working, and she was fairly sure that by Valentine's day she would have those perfect lips pressed against hers. Regina's arms closed around Emma's body and her head rested on her shoulder. She was lucky they were in a dark corner because this wouldn't be appropriate for friends. They danced while Emma whispered sweet things in her eat that made her smile, blush or roll her eyes. When the song was over they both felt the need for a break and Emma took the opportunity to visit the bathroom while Regina got them some more drinks.

When the blonde returned Regina was on the dance floor again, one drink still in her hand. The sheriff groaned when she noticed Jefferson. That asshole. He seemed drunk as he struggled to keep his balance and both his hands were on Regina's waist who was still holding the drink and didn't really seem to notice the hands, though she didn't look excited either. But Emma was angry. She rushed over to the two of them and pushed him away violently. Some people around them immediately turned to pay attention to the two of them. "Would you stop that?" She hissed. Jefferson shrugged. "Why would I? She doesn't have a date, and this is a pre-valentine's day party." Emma now stood fully in front of Regina. "She does have a date."People around them looked surprised. "I'm here date, okay. Yes, judge all you want but Regina and I are here together and I don't care what any of you think." She heard cheer from Mary Margaret and couldn't help but notice the fist bump in the air that followed but she continued. "Do you get it? You don't get to touch her, or dance with her because she is MY date." Proudly, she turned around to smile at Regina but all she saw was the brunette walking away and leaving the party. Damnit. It seemed like Regina was a bit too serious about the whole 'nobody-needs-to-know-we're-here-together'

Step five: Damnit Emma, you messed up again.

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**soo... opinions. Personally I loved Mary Margaret hahah :)**


	6. Step 6: Flowers say more than words

**wooowww okay this is a long chapter. Man my fingers hurt now. It's really late so sorry for the grammer but I think this chapter will make up for a lot of it. Don't be too scared by the beginning, it will be allright. **

**Hope you enjoy, **

**xx**

* * *

Emma quickly followed Regina outside. "Regina wait!" She screamed as she pushed the doors of Granny open and practically jumped of the small stairs. She rushed over to the older woman and used her hand to quickly turn her around. The Mayor looked shielded and angry but the look in her eyes showed her true pain and Emma felt it in her heart too, because she was the one that had caused it. Regina pulled her arm back violently but she surprised Emma by not walking away immediately but staring directly at the blonde. "Regina, I'm sorry." Emma started, hoping to break through the walls of Regina. Unfortunately she wasn't that lucky. "No, that's not enough. You knew I didn't want anyone to know. And what do you do? You-" She pointed at Emma's chest "you just scream it out loud, for the entire town to know." Regina threw her hands up in defeat and started to turn away. "Is it really that hard to admit that you like me, that-" Emma's voice cracked, "that you were on a date with me, a woman."

The sheriff felt her eyes water and she tried to push them away. Only then did she notice all the people of Storybrooke pressed up against the window, listening to their conversation. Mary Margaret was giving her a thumps up, clearly still drunk and thinking this was going into a completely different direction. She turned back to Regina, who looked like she was in control of herself and her emotions. The brunette opened her mouth to respond to Emma but she was quick enough to grab one of Regina's arms and walk them around the corner while Regina kept protesting, "Miss Swan, let me go right now." and trying to take her arm back. But now they were alone, away from the prying eyes and listening ears. Emma placed her hand against her head as Regina started talking again. "Miss Swan you have no idea who I like and you have to respect my wishes. If I don't want the town to know something than that is my decision."

That made Emma even more angry and she stepped in front of the Mayor. "So you think you can just make that decision on your own, I'm involved too. This is you and me." Emma used hand gestures to clarify her point. "We are doing this together and you can't just make a decision like that on your own and then freak out when I accidently make a mistake while I'm trying to protect you from a creep." The blonde had enough now and she sat down on a tree that lay on the ground. "Miss Swan." Regina started but she was interrupted by Emma who rushed to stand up and moved her body so close to Regina's so that they were almost touching. "Emma." She said, her voice firm. All of the sudden the Mayor lost it and she dropped her head in her hand. She wasn't really crying but Emma knew the walls were broken. Not in the right way, not by slowly removing one brick after another, but Emma's words had acted like a hammer. They had smacked the wall to the ground and left Regina unshielded, full of exposed emotions. Realizing she had made a mistake she tried to put a hand on Regina's shoulder but the brunette was quick to take a step back.

"Emma, please, you don't know what I've been through. Exposing a love that probably won't be accepted by everyone? I'm not really good at that. The last time someone died." Emma's mouth dropped open and she couldn't think of a single word to say. She had no idea. Regina and her had never really talked. They had moved from hating each other into this, having a date. Which worked for them but it also caused the lack of real knowledge Emma had about the Mayor. She finally snapped back to reality only to notice that her hand was still floating in the air and Regina was already walking towards her car. There was nothing left to do here. She just had to find a way to make up to the Mayor.

* * *

Emma was destroying the toaster again the next morning when Mary Margaret walked down the stairs. The blonde was surprised she was even here at all, she had expected her to go home with David but it seemed like she had come home alone anyway. Even though Emma felt like crap she couldn't help but smile at the way the brunette stumbled into the kitchen, one hand on her head and the other one holding a glass of water. "Urghh.. how much did I drink last night." She said while she pulled herself onto a bar stool. She didn't even look up to Emma but began eating the leftovers of the blonde's cereal. "Enough." Emma responded. She grabbed some knives and used them on the toaster. "How did I get home?" Mary Margaret asked confused. "Ruby. I asked her to get you home if you weren't planning on going with David, which apparently you didn't." The brunette was silent again, while she tried to restore some of her memory. "How bad was I?" She asked and the sheriff shrugged, even though she knew the teacher couldn't see it. "Pretty bad, you did fist bumps and surprising hugs and I heard that you apparently went to the man's room while singing along to 'do it like a dude' from Jessie J but I didn't really see you much. But don't worry David was as bad as you were so you two were practically perfect for each other." "The teacher dropped her head on the counter with a loud groan and a bang. "Ouch." Came the response and Emma chuckled.

The teacher propped her head up again and only then noticed the toaster in the younger woman's hands. She sat up straight and suddenly turning serious she asked, "Emma.. what happened?" The blonde first ignored her and continued on destroying the toaster but when she realized she was hurting herself more than actually destroying it she dropped the knife. "You really don't remember anything do you?" Slowly the teacher shook her head no. Emma sighed deeply and put the toaster down. "Jefferson.." She started, "was hitting on Regina. A couple of times but I kept acting cool until he had his handsonherwaistandthen-' a hand on her arm stopped her. "Emma calm down, I can't understand a thing you're saying." The blonde sighed deeply and then continued. "He had his hands on her waist so I pushed him away and told him that Regina was my date." "Good girl." Mary Margaret interrupted and Emma smiled. "Yeah that was when you did the fist bump things." Mary Margaret thought it over and then smirked, clearly approving with her own behavior. "Anyway," Emma continued, "She got mad at me because I had said that and she didn't want anyone to know, so we went outside and then we had a huge fight." The blonde had to take a break because thinking about the fight did hurt and the guilt got worse every time.

"Emma I'm sorry." The brunette said softly but Emma shrugged, she didn't want to be too vulnerable right now. "Yeah so I got mad because she wants to hide me and she got mad because she said that was what she wanted. But then I said that there were two people on that date, not one. But then she told me something, that she had lost someone because of a forbidden relationship and she looked really hurt and then she walked away." Emma ducked her head down. She had hated seeing the strong Mayor so hurt and she had hoped that she would never have to see it again.

The brunette stood and again surprised Emma by hugging her, it was really something to get used to, people hugging her. "It's okay. You made a mistake. You said something you shouldn't have. But we'll get her back."

* * *

Regina woke up later than usual that morning. She was happy that she didn't have to go to work that day but the schools were also closed which meant Henry would be home all day and she had to drag herself out of this bed and act like nothing had happened. She quickly took a shower and changed and walked down the stairs. She found her son sitting in the living room, watching something on television.

"Good morning Henry." She said as she walked over and kissed him on his head. The boy smiled. "Hi mom. How was the party." Regina used her fake smile. "Fun." Henry seemed to be paying attention because his eyes moved all over her face, she quickly turned her head away. "How were things with Emma?" He asked and she felt her smile fading but was quick to retore it. "Really good. We had a great time together." It still felt weird to talk about this with her own son but since Henry had seemed so happy about the.. situation. Henry nodded happily and then pulled her in for a hug, it surprised her because even though they had magically gotten along better the last couple of days, she hadn't expected it. "I'm really happy that you guys had fun." The boy said but Regina couldn't hear a smile in his voice and his hug was stronger and more comforting than a happy hug was supposed to be, well as far as she knew of course.

The boy pulled back and smiled up at her. "Mom would you mind if I go see Emma this afternoon. It's been a while and I miss her." So that was what that hug was about, pleasing his mother so that he could get what he wanted. But she nodded and smiled friendly, after all some time alone was what she needed right now. "Of course."

Henry walked into the other room and grabbed the phone. He quickly dialed Emma and Mary Margaret's number and waited for one of them to pick up. He got his biological mother. "Emma Swan." The woman mumbled and Henry knew his assumptions had been right, clearly something had went terribly wrong last night. He could see the fake smile on his mother's eyes and the redness in her eyes. "Hi Emma, it's Henry." The boy said. Immediately the blonde reacted more happy. "Hey kid, how is it going?" "Great!" He responded and an awkward silence fell over them before Henry realized he was the one that had called and needed something. "Can I maybe speak to Mary Margaret?" He asked. Emma was clearly surprised but she agreed and Henry could hear the phone being passed on and he heard the footsteps of his teacher before she finally spoke into the phone.

"Hello Henry. What is it?" She asked. "I think we need to talk, my mom…" the boy didn't finish his sentence but just sighed deeply instead. "I know, Emma too." Mary Margaret responded. "We need to come up with a plan for Operation Momma." The boy said and Mary Margaret agreed. "I can be there in fifteen minutes, do you think you can get Emma to leave?" Henry asked. He listened to the other side of the line where he heard his teacher suggesting that Emma should go to Granny's and have breakfast and thank Ruby for driving her home last night. Emma first protested but after some other words he could hear his biological mother agreeing to going. "Yes. That should be fine. I'll see you in fifteen minutes."

* * *

Exactly fifteen minutes later Mary Margaret heard a knock on her door. She quickly moved to pull it open and looked down at the boy who was holding some files. "What have you got there?" she asked but he didn't answer but just moved inside and took a spot at the kitchen table where he laid down the files. "Information for step six."

The teacher grabbed some more coffee for herself and some fresh juice for Henry before she sat down at the table in front of him. Henry couldn't help but chuckle at the sight of his normally extremely neat teacher. "What happened to you?" He asked ant the brunette looked up. "A party, that's what happened. Promise me you'll never drink alcohol." Henry laughed. "Can it really do such horrible things?" Without answering the teacher pulled out her phone and showed him a picture. "I found this picture on my phone about then minutes ago."

On the picture you could see Emma and Regina dancing, not too close together but getting there and next to Emma, who didn't seem to notice it, was Mary Margaret herself standing. Her mouth was open as if she was screaming from excitement and her hands were pointed to the two woman as if she was introducing them on stage. She looked utterly happy. The worst thing about the picture was that David was on the floor. In one hand he had a drink while the other hand was holding Mary Margaret's ankle. He looked pretty lost. Henry laughed. "Yeah. That's what it does." The brunette said before putting her phone back. "Okay, so what exactly happened between my two moms?" Quickly Mary Margaret told him the story, without too much details of course since she was pretty sure Emma wouldn't like her son to know. So all he knew was that there had been a fight because Regina didn't like everyone to know and then Emma had said some stupid things. Surprisingly, the boy had smiled and opened his files. "I have the perfect plan."

* * *

When Emma returned later that day, after thanking Ruby big time because apparently Mary Margaret had been a disaster in the car, screaming about the fact that she, in the driver's seat, was losing control over the steer and that they had to jump out of the car. When she entered Mary Margaret was sitting on the couch on her own but she was calling on her phone, probably with David because she laughed frequently. When she hang up she quickly made her way over to Emma and dropped the files that Henry had brought with him earlier. "I have the perfect idea!" The blonde rolled her eyes. "I don't know if we should start already, I hurt her a lot yesterday maybe I should just give her some time." The teacher waved it away. "No, it's perfect and a really small but sweet step." She opened the file and Emma couldn't stop her natural curiosity so she looked at the papers. Flowers. Lots and lots of pictures and names of flowers. "Really? Flowers? I'm going to apologize and make her forgive me by sending her some flowers?" It didn't seem like a good plan.

"No, it's perfect. Look-" Mary Margaret pointed at some of the flowers. "They all have a meaning. You can apologize and say whatever you have to say without actually seeing her or texting her, because that might indeed scare her away. And we all know she loves flowers." Emma frowned, she still wasn't convinced. "For example a striped carnation means 'I'm sorry I can't be with you, but I want to'" Slowly Mary Margaret noticed the smile forming on Emma's lips. "See, it's perfect." The brunette repeated and Emma's smile grew. "It is. So how are we going to do this?" Of course, that part of the plan had also already been spoken about. "We still have some days before it's actually Valentine's day so I suggest you give her the flowers throughout the day tomorrow. this way giving her some time and apologizing and we just have to hope that she will forgive you in the end."

Emma and Mary Margaret spend the rest of the day looking for the flower that should be given first. They had both decided on going with the purple hyacinth, since it says: "I'm sorry, please forgive me." Emma had it delivered to Regina's mansion the same night. "Do you think she'll get it?" Emma asked her roommate. "Maybe not in the beginning but I'm sure she will."

* * *

Regina had spend the rest of her afternoon mainly on her couch, thinking about Daniel and Emma and how things had gone. She was still really mad at Emma and couldn't see herself forgiving the blonde any time soon. Henry had come back sooner than she had expected. "Hey." She said as she propped herself up into a sitting position. "How is your mother?" She asked. She wanted to know if Emma was as broken as she was, because she deserved it. The boy was silent for a moment before he answered. "She wasn't there." Deciding that was enough information he moved to the kitchen to grab an apple. He wasn't really fond of apples but he didn't want his mother to get pissed at him for asking about snacks now. They enjoyed the rest of the afternoon and evening together and both seemed okay with the silence between them. Henry had agreed on going to bed a bit sooner than usual since his mother complained about being 'tired' from the party.

At around 10 pm there was a lock knock on the door which startled the Mayor. She wasn't expecting anyone. When she walked over to the door she realized it could be Emma. The last thing she wanted right now was to see the blonde. She doubted a few moments before eventually pulling the door open. Nobody. There was nobody there. She sighed in frustration but when she stared to pull the door close again she noticed the bouquet of flowers on the ground. Slowly she picked them up. Pink. She thought the sheriff knew her better. She didn't like pink. She walked inside the house and into the kitchen. When she was halfway throwing them away she decided that throwing away flowers was a waste so instead she took a vase and placed the flowers in the living room. The blonde was going to have to do a lot better.

* * *

The next day was a quiet day at work for both Emma and Regina. Regina had dropped Henry off at school and had immediately gone to her office where she found another bouquet of flowers. Geranium, probably one of the most ugly flowers, but that was just her opinion of course. Ignoring them she started working on reports and files. Since she had had the day off yesterday there was a lot of work that needed to be done.

* * *

Emma arrived at the sheriff station a bit later than usual because she had some arrangements that needed to be taken care of and checked in the morning. She wanted the next flowers in Regina's office since she knew the brunette would notice them. She had picked Geraniums because they said 'stupidity'. She was fairly certain the Mayor still had no clue what Emma was trying to do but that was okay. She would later. She was lucky that her day at the station was calm. She called with Ashley about how things were with her baby and later on she also had to make a call to Ruby. "Hey rubes, this might be a weird question-" Emma said when the brunette had answered the phone, "but I need you to give some flowers to Regina when she comes to Granny's this afternoon." The brunette was silent for a while because agreeing hesitantly, it wasn't that she didn't want to help Emma it was just weird because she had no idea what was going on. "Just make sure no one sees it, would you?" The brunette had laughed into her phone and agreed to Emma's plan.

* * *

Henry stayed in the class room during the lunch break to talk to his teacher. "Do you think that she knows they mean something?" The brunette immediately asked. "She knows it, she just doesn't realize it." Henry said. "My mom loves flowers and I've seen her read books about them, I know that she knows the meanings she is just not thinking about that right now." The brunette nodded. "Well if it takes too long, could you maybe nudge her into the right direction?" The boy nodded before going outside to play with his friends.  
After that Mary Margaret quickly made a call to Emma. "How are things going?" She asked and Emma groaned. "So nothing, no texts, no calls, no threats." "Nope.. nothing." Mary Margaret sighed. "Well, when are you planning on giving her the next flowers because Valentine's day is really coming up now." The teacher could hear Emma eating on the other side of the line so it was harder to understand her "This afternoon, I asked ruby to give them to her when she shows up at Granny's."

* * *

At that same time Regina did leave her office. She was in desperate need for some coffee. Although she didn't like going to Granny's right now she really needed some caffeine if she was going to stay awake for the rest of the day.

Like she had thought almost everybody was staring at her in Granny's. She felt the looks on her constantly so instead of sitting down like usual she ordered a coffee to go. Ruby seemed to be having some problems with that, which was weird but she gave it to her anyway. Quickly Regina left the diner only to be followed by Ruby. "Madame Mayor wait!" The brunette said as she held up some money in her hand so that the others would think the Mayor forgot some change. It seemed to work because they focused on their food again. Ruby slowed down and waited till Regina was already in her car before bending over and covering the flower with her body. Emma definitely owned her big time. "You forgot this." Regina slowly took the flower from the brunette's hand but then looked at it and tossed it on the other chair. Only one flower this time, a striped carnation. Better, but still not a flower she would like. Still too much pink. She grabbed her phone and without thinking she send a text to Emma.

**Really, Miss Swan. You think by buying me ugly flowers I will forgive you? Madame Mayor. **

Emma sat in her chair when she received the text. She was so happy, of course it meant that Regina still wasn't getting it but at least she was talking to her in some way.

_**Yes, I think so. Emma. **_

She responded. Ruby must have just handed over the flower that said: "I'm sorry that I can't be with you, but I want to."

* * *

Both the rest of their days went by slowly, Regina still pissed and confused and Emma trying to figure out when to give her the last flower. But luckily Mary Margaret had helped her and confessed to her that Henry actually knew what was going on and that it was him that came with the plan in the first place and after the shock of hearing it she had agree on Henry giving his mother the last bouquet.

* * *

Henry was nervous about giving them to his mother. He didn't really know why, probably because he just wanted his two mothers to be happy and he wanted Regina to forgive Emma. At five pm Regina was finally home from work and placed the other two flowers also in the living room next to the other bouquets.

"Hey Henry. Did you get home safe?" the boy nodded and pointed towards the other flowers. "Did you get more flowers from Emma?" He asked. His mother groaned a yes and rolled her eyes. "I don't even like them." She said after she put them down and looked at the three of them. They looked so random. "Maybe you're not supposed to think they are pretty, maybe you have to listen to their story." Regina's head snapped to her own son. She frowned. "What do you mean?" The boy smiled. "Don't all flowers have a meaning?" He hated that he was the one that had to tell her instead of figuring it out herself. But the look on his mother's face made up for it. Realization struck her as her jaw dropped to the floor and her eyes watered. A hand came up to cover her mouth. "What are they saying?" The boy asked and it took Regina a while before she answered. She pointed at each flower when she told him. "She's saying that she is sorry for her stupidity and that she wants to be with me, but she can't. Because I don't want people to know." The older woman said, still in shock and Henry couldn't help but beam up to his mother as he could see that she was forgiving his other mother. The doorbell rang and the Mayor practically ran towards it and yanked it open.

In front of her stood a man, holding out the last bouquet of flowers. More purple Hyacinths and white violets. "What is she saying, what is she saying?" Henry asked. Even though it had been his plan he had no idea which flowers Emma had picked.  
Regina turned around and faced her son. "She says: Please forgive me and give me let's take a chance." She smiled again and her son pointed at the flowers. Only then did she notice the little card attached. "Regina, I'm so sorry. Will you please give me a second change and let me take you out on a second, more private, date? Emma." The smile on her face grew and Regina faced the man. "Please sent a big bouquet of blue carnation's to the address where these came from." The man nodded and left Regina and Henry alone with their flowers.

* * *

Emma and Mary Margaret had been talking about the situation on the couch the entire night. It was now probably half an hour after Regina had gotten the last bouquet and also the card and Emma was anxious that she had made a mistake. "Relax, okay she is probably still figuring out what to do." The brunette said, trying to comfort her. Emma however, didn't answer her but started fidgeting with her clothes until, suddenly, the doorbell rang. She stood up and rushed to the door, Mary Margaret close behind her. She pulled it open and an annoyed man handed her a bouquet. "Can't you guys just text?" He said but both Mary Margaret and Emma ignored him as they looked at the flowers. Emma frowned, she had no idea what they meant but looked at Mary Margaret who now had the list in her hands. "What do they mean?" She asked impatiently. "What do they mean!?" she asked again and finally the brunette looked up and smiled at her. "Yes."

* * *

**So what did you think?**


	7. Step 7: A perfect Valentine's Day?

**Hey guys, sorry for the slight delay but I hope you will all enjoy this chapter! There will be one more chapter after this but then it's over, sorry everyone! **

**Thanks for the reviews btw, they mean a lot to me and it's amazing to hear all of your opinions!**

**xx**

* * *

Valentine's day

"David just asked me out!" Mary Margaret screamed as she put down the phone and faced Emma who was eating some cereal. "He asked me to meet me at Granny's tonight at seven and he said it's going to be a surprise." The woman clapped her hands and started walking around the apartment. Emma put down her spoon and sighed. "Seriously? You know exactly what he is planning and you have known that for about two weeks. Don't act all surprised." The brunette ignored her roommate and kept walking. "I can't wait!" Suddenly she stopped and looked at Emma like the world was going to end. "What?" the other woman asked, not really caring. "What am I going to wear?" She looked like it was world's biggest disaster and that made Emma chuckle. "Relax. I'll help you." The brunette ignored her and kept pacing through her apartment while she was murmuring outfits out loud and saying why they wouldn't be appropriate. "So I could wear that new dress, but it's so perfect for the situation that he probably knows I know about his whole plan." She stood still and threw her hands up in frustration. "I'm pretty sure he won't and besides you have the entire day to think about this." Emma sighed while she focused her attention back on her food. It was only 12 in the morning and she was trying really hard not to think about her own date of the night, not because she wasn't excited, the contrary actually but she knew that she would get really nervous when she started thinking about it, and she also didn't want to stress out like Mary Margaret was. And of course she was the one planning this date, she was the one who was going to be giving the gifts and pulling chairs. She had the right to be more nervous.

* * *

What Emma didn't know that Regina, on the other side of town, was almost hyperventilating. "I don't know if I can do this." She said silently to herself while making lunch for Henry. "Yes, you can." Her son suddenly said as he walked into the room. "Henry." She said, immediately standing straight and putting on a fake smile to look confident and certain about this day. She knew that her son knew about her and Emma because he had practically helped her get dressed for the previous date but she wasn't sure how much he knew and she was trying to at least keep some of this relationship away from her own son. Of course she wasn't aware that it was him who had planned most of this all along. "Mom, I know you're nervous about your date with Emma. But I know what she is planning and don't worry, I'm sure you guys will have lots of fun." He sweetly said to his nervous mother. The woman immediately smiled and then it faded. "You know what she has planned for us? Tell me." She tried to sound as strict as possible, hoping it would make force Henry into spelling his biological mother's plans but the boy didn't give in. "Nope. Then it wouldn't be a surprise anymore. And besides Mary Margaret agreed to give me free candy for a whole week if I didn't tell anyone." The woman now raised her eyebrows and said, somewhat frustrated and upset, "Mary Margaret knows about our date tonight?" The boy shrugged. "Duh. She lives with Emma, I'm pretty sure she knew about your date even before you did." The woman dropped her hands from her sides again and sighed deeply, trying to control the frustration. The boy could read his mother like a book sometimes, even though he knew most of the others couldn't. He decided it was time to leave the house. "Well.. I promised Emma that I would go to her this afternoon, is that okay?" Regina frowned for a moment because she was thinking things over. "Well I suppose that's okay. Do you think you can maybe stay over there tonight, I think it's saver there than in this big house and I know Mary Margaret will be home sooner than I." She was surprised that she trusted the brunette with her own son, maybe she was changing. The boy nodded. "I'm sure she'll be okay with it, thanks mom." Little did Regina know that Henry already had his bag packed and he had already discussed this with his teacher.

* * *

Luckily for Emma, Valentine's day was on a Sunday, which meant she didn't have to work and the shops were also open given the whole 'damn-I-forgot-to-buy-something' situation that always appeared. She had been shopping for the last two hours, something that didn't happen a lot, she always seemed to get bored or she just thought she had better things to do. She was still looking for a gift for Regina, she had some chocolate and a card already but she had already send those to Regina's house. Now she still needed a dress and an extra gift. Although she had no idea what she could get the brunette. When she walked past another store with dresses she stopped to take a good look. She would have to actually go in at a certain time. She sighed deeply and was about to walk in when David walked up to her. "Emma!" He said and she looked around to see the charming man walk towards her. They had become friends a while ago but they didn't spend that much time together, still it was always nice to see him. "Hey David. What are you doing here?" She said and he smiled again. "Getting some things for tonight. You getting a dress?" He said with a wink and then added. "Who's your Valentine Emma?" The blonde smiled awkwardly and blushed. "We are sort of keeping it a secret.." He chuckled. "Come on, I know it's Regina, Mary Margaret told me." The blonde rolled her eyes, she should have known. "I wouldn't tell anyone." He said as he held his hands up. "I promise. Now, can I maybe help you find a dress or something?"

Emma looked at him with her eyebrows raised. "Isn't that something that girls do together?" David didn't seem offended by it as he smiled again. "Well but then again, you are trying to impress a girl, which is what most man focus on." Emma was still not really sure about this so he added. "Besides this could be a nice father-daughter bonding moment." Emma laughed. "You know that Henry's theory is not really true, right?" That made him laugh. "It would be cool though, right?" They both chuckled and Emma held open the door for him.

* * *

Regina had already picked out the perfect dress. She was going for a black one this time. It was low cut and showed off enough to make Emma drool, she was sure about that. It hugged her body perfectly and showed of her beautiful curves. It was tighter than the one on their last date but she loved it. She was so happy that she had bought it last week because she wouldn't have known what else to wear. Suddenly someone knocked on her door. She wasn't expecting anyone. She walked downstairs and was unpleasantly surprised to see Gold standing there. "Mr. Gold. How can I help you?" she asked. The man eyed her over. "Clearly you have a date tonight, who's the lucky guy, dear?" He asked her. Regina rolled her eyes and placed her hands in her sides to show him that she was irritated and that he needed to get going with his question. "Listen I know about you and Emma okay. But just remember, I've know you for a long time Regina, I know you're trying to destroy her. You are trying to protect the curse, and I have to say, brilliant plan, Dear. It almost seemed real. But I'm going to have to stop you." Regina raised her eyebrows. "Mr. Gold this is highly unappropria-" "Oh stop it, your Majesty." He interfered. Regina huffed angrily and stepped outside to poke him in his chest. "You have no idea what I feel." She said as she stared directly at him. His laugh was evil. "Wait, are you saying that you actually have feeling for the savior?" He said and Regina looked down at the ground, losing her normal control and feeling slightly embarrassed. "Now who is going to believe that?" Now Regina laughed. "You do remember that besides the two of us, nobody knows about this curse?" She spoke softly, not that anybody was around but she did have that feeling suddenly.

"Dearie, did you not even think about the fact that if you are speaking the truth and you really have feelings for Emma, which I doubt, that if you kiss her the curse might break." Regina's smile faded from her face and for a minute she felt panic creep up her body. But then she realized that she didn't really care. She would rather have her curse broken but keep Emma than not have her. "I don't care." She said bravely. That caught Mr. Gold of guard so he slowly walked away. "Well then, have a fun night, my Queen." Regina immediately walked back inside and pushed herself against the door. She was in some deep trouble. The doorbell rang again and she sighed before she pulled it open again. "Gold, what is it?" she hissed but she stopped talking when she realized it wasn't him. "I'm sorry, Madam Mayor, but I'm here to deliver something." She smiled and apologized before she took over the red box he had in his hands. "Thank you." She said.

Once she was back inside she first opened the card that was attached to the box. You could see that the blonde had really tried to write neat which made Regina smile.

_**Will you be my Valentine? **_

The words said and she couldn't have been happier. The box contained chocolates, cliché but she loved it. No one had ever bought her chocolate before and she figured the blonde must have known that. She quickly grabbed her phone.

**Only if you'll be mine. Regina.**

* * *

"No really, this one?" Emma said with disgust as she pointed at her dress. David laughed out loud. "No, I changed my mind. Not that one. Here-" he handed her over another dress, "try this one." She took it and sighed. "Aren't you supposed to be planning something for your date tonight." She asked. He shrugged. "No I'm all done." She smiled. "She told you all about it, didn't she?" Emma smiled slightly. "Uhm.. well she told me that you guys have a date.." She stuttered. "Emma, I know that she has been doing research and all but the funny thing is that whatever she thinks we're going to do, we aren't going to do that. As soon as I figured it out, I got Ruby on board and we made a completely different plan while spoiling things from the original plan. She's going to be so surprised." He said with a love-struck smile on his face that made Emma smile too, it was so sweet. "That's amazing David I hope you guys have fun." He nodded. "Thanks. Now go and change into this dress." She walk back into her small room and noticed the light of her phone on. She had a new text! She opened it and couldn't help but beam at it, not only because it was so sweet but also because she had ended it with her name instead of 'Madame Mayor.' Quickly she texted back.

_**I would love to be yours x Emma**_

She changed into the next dress and walked out of the stall. David's mouth dropped open. "That's the one." He said and finally Emma looked in the mirror, she hadn't even seen it herself. Her own jaw dropped to the ground. The dress was blue with red and came all the way up to her neck. On her back there was a heart-shaped gap. She normally wouldn't pick out a dress that looked like this but she had to admit that she looked absolutely stunning. "Wow." She finally breathed and she could hear him laugh. "Well I have to go now but I'm glad that I could help."

* * *

"Henry." Mary Margaret said as she opened the door. "Hi." He said and he pushed past her into the apartment. He dropped big overnight back at the couch and then took place at the kitchen table. "Where's Emma?" He asked. It had been a while since he had last seen his mother and he missed her. "Emma is getting some things for tonight but I'm sure she'll be back soon. Do you want something to drink?" The little boy nodded and waited for his drink. "You look nice." He then said, looking at his teacher. "Thank you." The brunette answered and she looked down at her own body. She had to admit that she looked pretty great actually. "So how is everything going? Do you think that your mom will like the date Emma has planned?" The boy nodded happily. "She has changed a lot. I think she'll love it."

* * *

Emma was on her way back to her and Mary Margaret's apartment. She had decided to walk for once, thinking the fresh air would do her some good and make her nerves disappear. It had actually worked. She looked down at her phone and re-opened the conversation of her and Regina that had been going on for the last half hour.

**Miss Swan, I can hardly understand your bad spelling. I might have to cancel that date because I don't feel like going out with someone who doesn't even know to spell words and names. **

She chuckled and quickly typed a response but because she was looking down she didn't notice that a person was coming straight to her. She bumped into the person but she mumbled a quiet apology and kept on walking. She normally would have made eye contact but now she was too busy with other things. Her phone beeped again.

**Next time pay attention to where you're walking. Now my shoulder is sore. **

Quickly Emma's head shot up and she stood still. She turned around and could see Regina walking at the end of the street. She wanted to run towards her but realized that if Regina wanted to talk right now she would have done so already so she continued on.

_**I thnk I cn say the same to u. And shut it, you totally love it Gina. **_

She didn't receive another text but she was home so it didn't really matter. Time to get ready since her date was now only a couple of hours away and she still had to change into her new dress and do her hair. She put her key in the lock and turned it, when she opened the door her son came running towards her. "Hey kid." She said when she was caught in a surprising hug. "How are things?" She and Regina had a system of when she could have Henry but lately she had been busy so she had agreed to let him stay at Regina's more often. But now that she saw him again she realized she had really missed him big time. "Good." The boy answered as he beamed up to his biological mother. "Where is Mary Margaret?" She asked as she looked around the apartment. "She didn't leave you alone did she?" She was concerned because even though she knew Henry was alone a lot, she still didn't really like it. The boy only smiled. "No. She is upstairs. I heard her screaming and throwing things a couple of times." Emma laughed, she was probably doing her make-up. "What do you have there?" Henry said as he pointed at the bag in Emma's hand. She looked down. "Oh a dress for tonight and some red roses." Henry frowned. "Aren't red roses a bit cliché?" Now Emma couldn't help but smile. "Not on Valentine's day and besides, wasn't it you who was into the whole meaning of flowers thing?" He now jumped happily as he remembered his plan. "I'm so glad it worked." "Me too kid, me too." She said as she stroked his hair once again.

* * *

A couple of hours later Regina was waiting in her house, she was definitely nervous for this date. She had no idea what Emma was planning and as bad as she wanted all of this there was still the fear of the curse breaking. If Emma really was her true love it would probably break. And she was just frightened that the woman could never love her once she found out what she did to her parents and everyone else in this town. Once she figured out that she, Regina, was the Evil Queen. But she put that aside for now. Emma could arrive any minute now and she felt like she needed a drink. She went to the study and drank some of her apple cider. The cold liquid made its way down her throat and into her stomach. She immediately felt the effects rise up to her brains and it calmed her. Her nerves seemed to flow away and it made her nervous hands stop shaking. Satisfied, she put the still half full glass back down and sat down on the couch.

About twenty minutes later there was still no sign of Emma. Regina was getting a bit annoyed. She should have known that Emma was going to be late, she was not the most strict person when it came to arriving on time. She took her phone out of her tiny pursue and set a quick text to the sheriff.

_**Ms. Swan are you planning on picking me up before Valentine's day is over? Madame Mayor. **_

She ended like that on purpose, making it seem like she was angry for real, she found it very funny actually. About five minutes later there was a knock on the door and Regina grabbed her coat and rushed to it to pull it open. She was met by a panting blonde woman who was resting against her doorpost. "I.." She stopped again to breathe and Regina noticed the phone in her hand. "I'm sorry. Mary Margaret.. " Breathe Emma, Breathe. "She set the place on fire." Regina frowned and opened her mouth but a still panting Emma raised her hand, trying to reach for Regina's mouth but since she was still leaning down she hit her ear. "Henry's fine. It was just a small fire. She-"Some deeper sighs this time, "She made the toaster explode, because she thought that if I could do it, so could she." That made Regina laugh and she used her hand to pull the woman up so she could look at her while saying. "Don't worry Ms. Swan, I was just teasing you."

Only then did Emma notice her date. Regina looked absolutely beautiful, her coat was still open so the blonde could see the beautiful black dress that the Mayor was wearing. "No red this time huh?" Emma said teasingly as she eyed her over. Regina frowned. "Kidding, you look amazing Gina." Regina couldn't help but smile at the nickname. She stepped forward to Emma who seemed slightly startled by the sudden contact. Regina reached the zipper of Emma's coat and slowly pulled it open. She then forced herself away from the sheriff's body and stared at it. "You look beautiful Emma." She said with a blush on her cheeks. She wasn't someone who was comfortable with complements but Emma's dress definitely deserved one. It wasn't one that Regina would expect from her but the colors looked amazing on her.

Both fell into a slightly awkward silence then. "I'm kind nervous." Emma breathed and Regina laughed, more because it eased her nerves away. "Me too." She admitted quietly. "I'm afraid for what you have planned." She then said, sounding more like herself. Emma chuckled. "Well, let's get going."

* * *

"Ms. Swan we have been walking for twenty minutes now, where are you taking me?" Emma sighed in frustration. Regina had been complaining about the walk ever since they had started it. She had to admit that it was pretty far but she knew it would be worth it. "Why couldn't we just take your car?" Regina asked. Emma stopped walking and turned to stare at her date. "First of all, Madame Mayor, we're in the woods I'm a good driver but I'm not that good." "You suck at driv-" "shut it." Emma said. "Besides, I thought it would be, you know.. romantic." She said somewhat shy of her own words. Regina felt guilty and reached out to touch the blonde's cheek. "I'm sorry. It is, it's just that I'm wearing heels and you aren't and I'm afraid that I'm going to fall." Emma grinned. "Here" She turned around. "Get on my back." Regina took a step back. "I'm at so not going to do that, you'll break." Emma took a step back. "Relax. I'm not that fragile and besides if it will make you stop complaining I'm doing this for me too." Slowly Regina climbed on top of Emma's back, glad she was wearing a long coat because the dress was rising up high. After a couple of minutes she rested into it and leaned her head down on Emma's shoulder. "Don't fall asleep on me." The blonde said and Regina moaned softly next to her ear which made Emma's body shiver. "I won't."

After ten minutes they stopped and Emma put Regina down on her feet again, the brunette had had her eyes closed for the last ten minutes so her mouth dropped open when she saw everything that Emma had made for her. There was a path surrounded by candles in glass (of course the sheriff had thought of safety and the last thing they wanted probably was setting the woods on fire.) Regina was surprised by herself when she felt her eyes get wetter. Her hand clutched her chest. Luckily a comforting hand wrapped around her body and she felt Emma's smile on her face. At the end of the path was table with another candle, food that she could smell from here and glasses filled with red wine. "Emma.." she breathed and looked to face the blonde. "This looks amazing." The blonde smiled back and held out her hand. "Shall we?" Regina nodded and she took Emma's hand.

* * *

Dinner was nice, amazing actually and Regina was surprised that conversation seemed to flow so easy between the two of them. They hadn't really talked about the whole 'nobody-can-know-about-this' thing but that could come later. "So you're saying that Archie would be the man you would want to see dancing on a table, drunk?" Regina asked as she laughed at the blonde who was leaning back on her chair. "Yeah, who else?" Regina bit on her lip and thought for a second. "I don't know, Mr. Gold maybe." That made the blonde burst out in laughter. "Okay good one." Regina was eager to say something again but something stopped her. Something warm at her feet. She looked down to see purple smoke. She looked up at Emma who was staring down too. "Emma.. did you do this?" She asked. The blonde looked up, she seemed somewhat scared. "No." They were both silent but when it reached Regina's hands realization struck her. Her fingers tingled and her whole body seemed to absorb the purple smoke. "Oh no." She murmured and she immediately closed her eyes. "Regina! What's wrong?" Emma said when she noticed how Regina was sitting and the closed eyes. She walked to the other side of the table and grabbed the woman's shoulders. "Regina, seriously, what is this?" The woman opened her eyes slowly and locked them with Emma's. The blonde's jaw almost dropped to the ground. "Your… eyes.." she stammered while she pointed at the Mayor. "Purple, aren't they?" Regina asked softly. The blonde nodded. "What is it?" She asked while she stood and helped Regina up now that it was raising higher. Emma immediately wrapped her arms around Regina's body to protect her. "Regina. What is it?" She asked again and the brunette locked eyes with her again, they had turned brown again and Emma could see the panic in them. "Magic." She said and before Emma even got time to progress it Regina pushed forward and pressed her lips against Emma's.

The second their lips met, there was even more smoke, this time more red then purple and it came from their bodies. The feeling was incredibly intense, it felt so good but so strong that it made Emma scared and she tried to pull back. She was stopped by the hand on her lower back who pushed her back against the brunette. Regina slowly opened Emma's mouth and pushed her tongue inside. When their tongues touched Emma's mind went crazy. Images kept flashing before her eyes, images of David or Charming, snow, she saw herself and she saw Regina, or the Evil Queen to be precisely. When they stopped flashing she pushed Regina back and she looked into those dark eyes. "I'm so sorry, Emma."

* * *

**So what did you think?**


	8. True love

**srryyyy! I know that the delay sucks but exams and stress and everything was killing me. But yeah I'm back and I have to say that maybe my stressed out mood had an effect on this cause it's not so fluffly anymore but I hope you like it anyway. **

**But this is the last chapter though. I wanna thank all of you for reading this and reviewing it and I'll write a new story real soon. If anyone has an idea you can always tell me. **

**again, srry for grammer and stupid typing mistakes, it's late and i'm tired XD**

**Hope you enjoy this one, **

**xx**

* * *

Emma slowly walked away from Regina, into the woods. She kept eye contact with the woman the entire time but she wasn't really seeing Regina. She was only feeling, so many things at once. She also had a lot of questions. Probably the most important one right now was if Regina had really liked her or if this was just some stupid plan. And of course she felt guilty, her son had been speaking the truth to her the entire time and she had basically told him he was crazy, that it was all pretty insane. Oh and her parents! For god's sake she had Snow White and prince Charming as her parents. This was all a bit too much.

"Emma." Said a soft voice at the other side of the open field. Slowly Emma came back to this world. The smoke was gone now. Regina looked differently, if you would ask anyone else they probably wouldn't have noticed it but Emma did. It was in her posture, in her eyes her whole body was practically screaming with new found energy, it was probably magic. She didn't know what to do. Should she be afraid? She wasn't. Should she run away? Probably. Even though she wanted to stay her head won the battle against her heart and she started to back off. Things needed to be sorted out first, different things before she could see what was happening between them. So she went back to the table and grabbed her purse. "Emma." The voice said again and the blonde looked at the older woman. "Please.. don't leave." Regina seemed so vulnerable. Emma opened her mouth but it took a while before the words left her mouth. "I need to go.. because I-" she was cut off by Regina who looked hurt, even though she was trying to hide it. "I understand, you're scared or angry. I would be too." Regina nodded and Emma ran away, still not sure what all this meant.

* * *

When Emma was in the main street she could see that everybody had their memory back, not that she had expected something else but still.. .  
Ruby and Granny were hugging and Mr. Gold was walking with someone she had never seen before, when she looked closer – she wasn't entirely sure about this - she could see that he was crying before he hugged the mystery woman again. She had no idea who he was in the other world so she couldn't guess the identity of the woman.

Then she noticed her parents. They were standing in the middle of the street, kissing. She wasn't entirely happy about this being the first thing she saw of her parents, of course she had seen them many times before I mean she lived with her mother – oh god all the conversations and oh god what would her Mary Margaret now say about the who Regina thing - but then she hadn't known that they were her parents. Slowly she walked towards them and when she came closer they heard her footsteps and turned around. Her mother's –that sounded weird - eyes immediately watered and she was completely quiet as she walked closer and slowly hugged her daughter, carefully but with so much love that Emma wasn't sure what to feel, only that the huge gap in her heart had been filled. Her father joined their hug and wrapped his arms around both his wife and his daughter. "You found us." Snow said as she pulled back and stroked Emma's face. The woman laughed softly, more because she was nervous. "Did you ever doubt I would?" Her parents immediately laughed even harder and even though Emma didn't get it she joined them.

"Snow!" someone screamed and then Ruby, or Red, came running towards them and embraced her long lost friend. Charming stood by her side, smiling too. He and Red were friends but not like his wife and the brunette, they had been really close friends back home while they had barely known each other in Storybrooke. Red waved a bit awkward at Emma. "So… you're my friends daughter.." Emma smiled slightly and shrugged, she was uncomfortable. "Guess I am." Snow put her arm around her daughter and smiled broadly, the woman was definitely proud of Emma, though she herself found it all a bit weird, she needed her time to get used to this. Only then did she notice her son running towards her. "Emma! Emma! You did it, you broke the curse! I knew you would!" Henry pulled her in for a bear hug and Emma dropped to the floor in front of him so she could face him. "Henry, I am so sorry for not believing you. I should have." The boy smiled, seemingly happy with the apology. "It okay." He then looked around the little group. "Where's my mom?" Emma's smile faded and she should straight again. "I uhm.. kinda left her in the woods." She blushed a little, ashamed of leaving her date like that. "You left my mom all alone?!" The boy said as his mouth dropped open.

"Relax." Emma said as she brushed her hand over her son's head. "I'm sure she'll be fine on her own, please stay with Ruby." She directed her son towards Ruby, this was not a conversation he should be present to. Snow now stood next to her daughter and pointed towards Rumple who was gathering people while holding the hand of the woman Emma had seen before. When he noticed them he stormed towards them, bringing the mysterious woman with him. "Who's that?" Emma asked, but her mother could only shrug before Rumple was in front of them. "She did this. All of this. We are going to kill her but Emma, I need your help you have been closest to her." Emma's stomach and jaw dropped to the floor. She felt like a knife was stabbed into her heart. They were going to do what? When Rumple noticed her stare he pointed at the woman at his side who looked extremely conflicted but also actually happy to be with the monster. "This is my girlfriend. Belle. Regina, your girlfriend-" "She's not my girl-" "Save it." Rumple went on. "Regina locked her up for all those years and she told me that Belle was dead. And she keeps on trying to kill your parents and she continuously takes your son from you. How come you don't want to kill her?" Snow and Charming were quiet as they just stared at their daughter, wondering what she was going to say. "Because you only see the evil." Emma started slowly, focusing more on empty space behind the group than the people she was talking to. "You don't want to believe that there is good in Regina." She then looked to her new found parents. "Listen I know you guys know her in a different way, I mean I only know what Henry had told me but you must hate her and I understand that you don't want me close to her but you have to understand me and Regina we are going to do this thing, I think and-" "Emma." David cut her off as he let go of his wife and stepped closer. "I didn't even know about Regina and you but I don't care if you like her, it's okay really. I'm just scared that she's faking it." Emma sighed and pulled away from her father.

"Look Emma, she's done it before." Snow started, now also moving towards her daughter. Nobody had noticed that Rumple had left with Belle. "You know that I have no problem with you liking girls, I told you before, it's just that I really don't see you and Regina." Emma was now boiling with anger as she made fists with her hands. "You can't stop me. I'm going to get her and keep her safe." Before her parents said anything else she stormed away.

Snow and David watched their daughter burst away. "Well.. that was some reunion." David said. His wife responded by sighing deeply, "And not the Valentine's date I had expected." "Yeah I'm sorry about that." David responded. "Not your fault." She said while they both stared emotionless at the mess that was Storybrooke.

* * *

Emma rushed back into the woods. She kept murmuring to herself that she never should have left Regina's side. She should have stayed with her, they should have gone back together. The woman must be thinking that Emma was leaving her, that she was frightened of the former Queen. The branches cracked beneath her foot and some hit her in the face, probably making scratches that would hurt later. But it didn't matter, not right now.

"Emma!" A familiar voice said and she froze in her spot. Slowly she turned around but she didn't see anybody. She narrowed her eyes but there was too much darkness. "Mom!" the voice said and she realized it was her son. The boy appeared by her side and she hugged him. "Henry. What are you doing here? I asked you to stay with Ruby." The boy ignored her and grabbed her arm. "My mom is not here anymore." Her eyes widened. She could now see their table where she and Regina had been, and kissed, only a short time earlier. She couldn't see much but she also didn't spot Regina. "How do you know?" She asked her wise son. The boy took her sleeve and dragged her further away from where she had last seen Regina. "Mr. Gold has her. I saw them before. My mom, she got out of the woods to seek for you and then they got her. I saw it happening, Emma!" The sheriff was quiet as she listened to her son's words. Regina had gone looking for her. Still she wasn't moving forward. "She was crying Emma, because she thinks that you're just going to leave her alone. She loves you okay, she just keeps it all on the inside, because that's the safest place to hide, it's all she's ever done. You have to fight for her." The boy seemed really desperate and it finally all sunk in. Emma's feet starting moving on their own as she now dragged her son towards the edge of the woods, wanting to find the brunette again.

The streets of Storybrooke were almost empty when Emma and Henry had found their way back. Almost empty. Expect for Rumple who was now coming towards them. "Where is everyone?" She asked. The man shrugged and just stared at her. "I don't know, I haven't seen your parents for an hour or so." He dared her to ask for Regina, but luckily her son stepped in. "Where's my mom?" He asked angrily which made the man laugh. "Easy son. Everybody is fine. Just come with me and I'll take you to them." Emma and Henry looked at each other before following the man towards his shop.

When they entered the shop it was dark, really dark, so Emma grabbed her son by his shoulder while she tried to find Gold's eyes in the darkness. "What are we doing here? Where is everyone?" Suddenly the man's crane hit her in her temple. Hard. She fell to the ground and it all felt like it was going in slow motion. She felt her son's arms trying to keep her from hitting the ground too hard but he wasn't strong enough. "Mom!" He screamed but her eyes closed and blackness took over.

* * *

When Emma woke up, about twenty minutes later, her head hurt like hell and she was sure that her forehead was bleeding. She was lucky that she wasn't dead. It's really dangerous to hit someone in the temple. Then she remembered that her son had been there when it happened. "Henry!" She called out. No response. "Henry!" She tried again but nobody answered. The damn shop owner had taken him with him. Emma's again grew again as she rushed towards the door. Closer. Luckily she knew how to pick a lock and she had herself out of the room in about ten minutes, which was a personal record. Although she had no idea where to go, she figured that the town hall was the best option.

She had been right. There were a lot of people waiting outside. Some seemed happy, some upset and others were just staring straight forward. Emma tried to read there expressions, catch their eyes but no one reacted to her. Like she wasn't even there. Only then did she notice her parents. Mary Margaret was crying and David was holding while she was clearly trying to get out of their grasp. "Mary Margaret!" She screamed through the crowd and the woman's head shot up. "Emma." She breathed. "Emma thank god." Quickly Emma rushed over and noticed really how broken both looked. "what the hell is going on, where is Regina?" The brunette pointed at the town hall. "Gold has her there. We tried to stop him Emma, really but he has magic. He created some sort of shield. We can't get in. Why are you bleeding?" Emma's mouth dropped open as she turned around. She ignored her mother's comment about the blood, her own well being didn't mean anything now. "It's invisible Emma, it's dark magic." The blonde woman felt her mother's arms come around her and she let herself be in that hug for just a second. "Where's Henry?" She asked as her body suddenly tensed and she remembered her son. Right on cue the boy came running towards them. "Emma!" He said as he hugged her again. "Where were you?" She asked as she dropped to her knees. Luckily he seemed fine, except for the emotionally stressed like they all were. "Gold. He took me with him and brought me here. Then he went inside and made this shield. I tried getting inside too but it burns." Emma frowned. "What burns?" Her son pointed towards the shield. "It's hot, here see." The boy showed his left hand which had a small burn on it. He noticed the look on his mother's face, very much the same that Regina would have given him. "I'm okay. We just need to find a way to get through this shield."

Suddenly the blue fairy appeared by their side. "I'm afraid there is no way, Henry." The boy frowned. "But you're the blue fairy, there must be a way!" The woman smiled sadly. "Even with my magic, there is no way to defeat this dark magic, we can't forget that Rumple is the dark one." Emma started panicking now. "Isn't there like a normal way to get through this thing. Like with fire or water or whatever, something non magical." Again the sad smile. "I don't think so, but you can try."

And that's what Emma did. The entire night that followed, she tried setting the dame thing on fire, threw water on it, dirt she tried kicking it but she would fly back or burn herself every time. Around 5 in the morning her body was exhausted. Everybody had gone home, her parents and Henry had insisted on staying but she said that she had to do this alone. Some had tried helping her first but since they were all from a different world, realized that only the dark one himself could tear this thing down again. Now, she was lying on the floor, right in front of the damn shield. She had some pretty bad burns on her arms but she didn't care. She could get them fixed, she just wanted to have Regina back. She forced herself to stand up again and started walking backwards. She prepared herself for a run against the damn thing, it was the only thing left to try. However, she was stopped by a voice. "I wouldn't do that if I were you." Her head shot up and she stared straight into the eyes of the man she had now grown to hate so much. "Gold." She groaned. " Let me in."

He chuckled and to her surprise removed the shield. He stepped outside, followed by a crying Belle but Emma didn't pay attention to them, she just rushed inside. There were so many small rooms but she found Regina in the biggest room, she was sitting on the floor, her head dropped down and her hands tied around a pole. "Regina!" Emma screamed as she felt tears in her eyes. She quickly dialed the number of the hospital and told them to come right away. She then dropped herself down and crawled over to the other woman. She quickly untied her hands and pulled Regina into her arms. "Damnit you wake up Regina." She screamed again as she shook the older woman in her arms, Regina was still breathing so that meant she was alive, but it didn't look good. She had a pretty bad bump on her head and she was bleeding but not enough to shut down. He must have used magic on her. "Don't you dare die on me like this." She said as she closed her eyes and let the tears fall down. Slowly a hand moved up to touch her face. Emma opened her eyes immediately and stared into the brown eyes that fought to open up. "It's okay Emma. I know you tried." Her voice sounded weak.

Emma couldn't control her tears. She felt like she should be strong, she wasn't the one dying but she just didn't want it to end like this. "Worst Valentine's day ever." She said shakily, trying to stay strong. Regina tried to laugh but it was immediately followed by her coughing. "It was perfect Emma. I found my happiness today." Emma raised an eyebrow. The woman closer her eyes for a second before opening them again and taking a deep shuttering breath. "When we kissed Emma, the curse broke. You're my true love Emma, and I'm yours. I finally found what I've been searching for. Thank you." Emma smiled slightly. It was true. Regina was her true love. They were silent for a moment before Regina spoke again. "I'm so tired." Emma tensed again and shook the brunette. "No, you have to stay awake. They are going to fix you." Regina smiled. "They can't. This was magic's doing Emma. No doctor in the world can fix this."

"But don't you have magic?" Emma said desperately.

"Rumple, he took it from me." Regina said as she fought another wave of sharp pain.

Minutes went by where Regina's eyes would shut and Emma would shake her violently, forcing her to open them and speak to the blonde. But then after another wave of pain, she couldn't take it anymore.

"Please." She said. "Please. Please. Please Emma." It was a whisper but the blonde heard it loud and clear. "Please let me go. You have to." Emma wanted to fight her again but when she looked at Regina and she noticed the pain on her face she just couldn't. The woman body was done, the fight was killing her and her body was shutting down. Emma had no choice. She lay Regina down on the floor and held her in her arms, protecting her. Regina's breathing started to slow down and Emma stopped thinking about whether help would be here soon. She lived in the moment she had with Regina. She said sweet words to the older woman who had stopped responding. And then her breathing began to slow down even more. Emma wasn't crying anymore, she didn't have any tears left in her body. Instead she just pulled Regina closer when the grip around her waist began to loosen. She planted a soft kiss on Regina's lips. Then the breathing stopped.

* * *

**2 months later**

"Henry we have to get you to school!" Emma said as she dragged her son towards the door. "We are going to be late." Her son walked slowly towards his mother. "I don't want to go." He said in a sad voice. "I know, but you have to." He started walking out the door but turned around to face his grandparents. "You guys will pick me up in time right?" David sighed. "Henry we talked out this, we don't know if it's a good idea to have you there." The boy looked mad. "No I have to go, I have to be there. Please gramps." David sighed one more time and gave in. "Okay if you're sure."

When Emma returned later her parents were sitting at the kitchen table. "What are you guys doing?" She asked. Her mother looked up and showed her a thin smile. "we're wondering what to do with Rumple's magic. Now that we've taken it from him we have to keep it somewhere." Emma frowned. "Isn't there a way how you can make good magic out of it." Both her parents were silent and then looked at each other. "I don't know, we have to ask the blue fairy." Again silence fell over the group, it was getting awkward and Emma knew that her parents were holding a question. "So, how are you holding up?" David asked slowly. Emma stood up immediately. "You know I just remembered that I still need some more flowers for this afternoon." Her mother wouldn't let her get away so easily. "You sure you're okay with doing the eulogy?" She asked. Emma only nodded. "I can do this."

* * *

The funeral started at eleven and almost everybody from Storybrooke had come. Henry had cried almost the entire time, while standing safely between his two grandparents. Emma had done the eulogy like she had promised but it had been harder than she had expected and she left as soon as it was over. She didn't even speak to anyone, she just stepped into her car and drove. She needed to get away, this was all hitting her too hard. She kept on driving not sure where she was going. It seemed like her car had a destiny of its own. So when she was parked she stepped outside her car and walked into the building. Now her feet were guiding her. "Emma!" someone said but she continued until she entered the all so familiar room with the beeping sounds.

"You're here." A voice said and Emma finally felt like herself again as she stepped further into the room. "You're awake." She said as she now stepped near the bed and bent down to give her girlfriend a kiss, purple smoke came from between their lips and Emma blushed. "Why does that keep happening?" Regina smiled softly but her eyes were still closed. "Because you're healing me." The blonde ignored it and shifted a chair closer. "How was Archie's funeral?" Emma dropped her head down and her eyes watered again. The blonde took a shaky breath and looked up. "He shouldn't have died, I know you weren't there but it was horrible. It still feels like my fault, one minute we thought we had Rumple, then I look away for one second and he kills Archie." Regina smiled softly and grabbed the blonde's hand. "it wasn't your fault."

"How do you know? You were busy dying on me at that moment." Regina was startled and took her hand back. Emma quickly looked into the hurt brown ones. "I'm sorry." She took another deep breath. "It's just that.. As horrible as his death was and is, all I could think was that it could have been you Regina."

"But it wasn't." Regina responded quickly. "You saved me Emma. I don't know how you did it, but you did and I'm going to get better."

Emma smiled softly and she bend over to kiss Regina one more time.

"I got you something." She took a red rose out of the bag that she had with her and handed it to Regina. The woman smiled as she took it. "Pretty sure you know the meaning." Emma said shyly.

Regina's smile grew.

"I love you too, Emma Swan."

* * *

_Even now, I believe that for the most part, love is about choices. It's about putting down the poison and the dagger and making your own happy ending...most of the time. And sometimes, despite all your best intentions, fate wins anyway. _

* * *

**don't forget to leave me a review in the pretty box below ;) thanks for sticking with me. **


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